Remember You, Remember Me
by trailsofblood666
Summary: The charges against Haruno Sakura were extensive, including attacking a fellow Konoha shinobi, abandoning her village and even going as far as joining the Akatsuki. To what lengths will she go to stay out of Konoha hands?
1. Prologue: Capture

_**Disclaimer: I guess I don't own naruto... if you still feel like suing me I gots digs in pockets exactly $0.39 to my name... it's yours if you want it**_

**A/N: read and enjoy... comments and criticism are welcome an listened to... I don't mind flames either considering no one is tying you to a chair, gluing your eye lids open and threatening you with death-by-spoon... so sit back, relax, and again enjoy!**

_'thoughts'_

"speech"

_**(flashback)**_

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Remember You, Remember Me

Prologue: Capture

By: trailsofblood aka Wizard

This was the end, she was finally going to die. After all those years running and hiding they had finally been able to keep up with her pace. She had run herself to exhaustion and beyond and yet they never fell more than a mile behind. She knew she had no chance of escape, maybe if she had stopped running an hour ago and attacked before she was on the brink of collapse she might have had a chance.

That wasn't on option though, she could never hurt her pursuers, her friends. Well, they were her friends before this whole thing began. They had grown together, laughed together, cried together and shared the same losses. They were her hunters now, charged by her village to have her head and remove the threat to their precious village. Would her ex-friends even hesitate a moment before taking her life? Feel a single moment of regret? Feel guilt about their task? Feel anything?

Somehow she doubted it.

She had made so many mistakes in so little time that she could never forgive herself let alone expect others to forgive her. The last 4 years seemed to blur together to make up nothing but error upon error. Every way she turned it was as if she was betraying someone else. The kunoichi smirked. She's never made a mistake in her life, everything seemed like the right thing to do at the time.

Maybe if she kept telling herself that...

Shaking her head the ninja turned her attention back to the situation at hand. She could feel the presence of her company land in the branches of the trees behind her. She found herself unconsciously pushing her body against the rough bark of her own hiding spot. She knew it was useless, they already knew where she was, yet she still slowed her racing heart and forced her gasping breaths to come more even and quiet.

She could feel their bodies strategically positioning themselves in case she tried to make a break for it. She almost laughed at them, they had to know the reason she stopped was not because she thought she could hide from their superior senses. Letting her head loll to the side she allowed her eye lids to slip shut.

What were they going to charge her with? Attempting to kill a fellow shinobi? Going AWOL on her village? Murder of 3 ANBU squads? Joining the Akatsuki? Running wild with Uchiha Itachi and Hoshigaki Kisame? Ok the last two she didn't really have a justification for they were just something to do with her time as a nukenin.

The thought of the two murderous shinobi brought a ghost smile to her pale face. Once someone took the time to break the shell surrounding the mysterious men they were actually quite nice, decent human beings. Well, that is, if you look beyond the fact that they were both cold blooded murderers. Then again what would the world consider her now?

_'I wonder what those boys are doing right now. I bet they're both sitting around their fire debating who's fingernails were longer or something equally as stupid.'_ The thought made her start to laugh. She must have sounded insane to her pursuers but at the moment she didn't care. Here she was in the last moments of her life and in her mind she had an image of the dreaded Akatsuki members sitting side by side looking at their fingers like a couple of obsessed females.

As her laughter died down she couldn't help but feel slightly annoyed. What were those idiots doing behind her scratching their ass's? They hadn't spoken, they hadn't moved, hell, she wouldn't be surprised if they hadn't blinked for fear of missing her either. Were they just going to stand there all day or make a move on her?

"You're tired. We've got you surrounded, there's no use even trying to run any further." _'Spoke too soon.'_ She knew that voice, always practical and emotionally challenged Hyuuga Neji. Why he felt the need to state the obvious was beyond her.

"Just surrender now, it will be easier on all of us." Ah, Naruto. Always loud and always energetic. His voice was clam now and betrayed none of his emotions. _'Guess he's grown up.'_

A quiet voice whispered something that the kunoichi didn't catch, but the voice was definitely familiar. So Konohagakure had sent Hyuuga Neji, Uzumaki Naruto, and Hyuuga Hinata to come and take care of her? A bunch of kids. Neji was the only one out of his teens and just barely at that. Who else did they send to remove the threat of her existence? Kiba? Lee? Shino? Maybe Ino?

"Put your hands where they are visible, and I promise you will not be harmed. You will be taken back to Konohagakure to be questioned before your fate is decided. This is your last chance Sakura." Of course, Kakashi. They couldn't have sent someone she didn't know, no that would be too easy on her.

So they had finally figured it out huh? All those ANBU she killed, all the drug dealers, all the Akatsuki marks, all that blood that stained her hands, it was all the blood of strangers. Tsunade had finally figured out that she didn't have the will power to kill those she had grown up with, those she had once loved like family. If she had just sent people she didn't know...

_'Damnit! Damn that whole god forsaken village to hell!'_ Continuing her rant she spun around the tree to face her assailants. She crossed her arms over her head and let her hands hang down on either side. She scrunched her nose and let out a strangled cough. Man, she seriously needed a shower.

Yep, there they were evenly spaced out in a semi-circle around her. Basic strategic procedure, easy to circumvent if motivated. Weak but effective when the target is fatigued. No chance of success if the target still has strength left in them or is overly motivated. Sakura, at this point in time had neither but after spending so long as an assassin she couldn't help but notice every detail.

They stood before her in their tight fitting black ANBU uniforms, painted masks secured snugly to the sides of their heads leaving their faces visible to her. Neji and Naruto stood to either side of her a few meters off. Two powerhouses poised and ready for any escape attempt she might make while Hinata and Kakashi stood in front of her. Did they think that if she were going to try to escape she would attempt to run right through them? Idiots.

Sighing heavily she offered her ex-village mates a condescending smirk. They were tired too. They tried to hide it but she had been trained by some of the most fearsome ninja known to the world. They way Kakashi's head dipped slightly with every breath, the way Naruto's shoulders were too relaxed in their sockets, even the way Neji's posture was slouched just the tiniest bit. It would be an interesting fight to say the least.

"Having troubles keeping up boys, you look beat." Her voice startled them, she knew it would. Her voice had deepened since she had last spoken to the foursome and she refused to let it betray any emotions. Everything had changed about her since her last encounter with these people. Sakura had grown into her body and was no longer lanky and underdeveloped. Well toned muscles splashed across every inch of her taut flesh and her breasts, while not overly large like Tsunade's, were ample enough to attack the attention of men wherever she traveled. Pink hair that was once vibrant and bright had dulled to a soft, less noticeable, pastel color. Her green eyes had darkend to a hard, dusky forest green color under perfectly arched eyebrows.

She was like a cat, the perfect picture of stealth. A black fishnet shirt clung tight to her skin, ending just above her navel and spilling over her shoulders before stopping above her elbows. Her solid black bra was clearly defined against her pale creamy skin under the transparent shirt. Comfortably fitting black pants hung seductively low on her hips and made no sound as the twilight wind gently tore at the fabric. To top her already threatening stature off a katana was splayed across her back and jutted out behind her left shoulder held in place by a few loops of chakra around the scabbard.

She was definitely a deadly individual.

The ANBU unit made no reply as she fluidly shifted her weight from side to side in an enticing dance to keep her blood moving in her veins. Lifting an eyebrow she let her arms fall to her sides and stopped her movements. What were the idiots going to do, stand there staring while she fell asleep on her feet?

Kakashi shifted his weight into a more relaxed pose though his muscles stayed tensed under his uniform. "Haruno Sakura, under the order of Tsunade, Godaime Hokage of Konohagakure, you are to be apprehended and brought back to the village by whatever means necessary. You can either come willingly or we will resort to force, either way you are coming back to Konoha with us."

Sakura laughed. "If I was going to go back willingly don't you think I would have walked through Konoha's gates of my own free will years ago?" She watched all their muscles tighten instinctively for a moment before continuing. "Never-the-less if it means the difference between walking on my own two feet with at least a shred of pride still intact or being carried like some errant child, I choose the former. I will accompany you back to Konohagakure without struggle." _'For the moment at least.'_

"Pretty words." Was the only reply she got from Kakashi as he motioned Neji forward. She knew what was coming, it was the reason they brought the Hyuugas' with other than to use their Byakugan to find her and keep her in sight. Neji was going to close her tenketsu's so she will be unable to perform any jutsus.

Sakura watched as Neji cautiously advanced on her keeping his bloodline activated to watch for any flares in chakra indicating an oncoming jutsu. He had changed since she had last encountered him 4 years ago upon her departure from the village. Where once a lean muscled 16 year old boy, only an inch or two taller than her, stood was now a bulky 20 year old man who towered a good 6-7 inches over her. She had no doubt that he was stronger than her in brute strength these days but all those muscles deducted points in stealth and agility. Her muscles were specifically trained for a life as a nukenin and they specialize in the ability to get themselves out of tough situations such as this.

Sakura had no intentions of doing that though.

To say the pain of having your tenketsu's closed was excruciating would be an understatement. Air entered her lungs in painful spiky breaths, her head felt like her brain was trying to push itself out through her hair follicles and the rest of her body felt as if a million dirty fingernails were attempting to rip her flesh from her bones slowly, strip by tiny strip. The whole thing was torture enough to make the strongest man crack.

Fortunately she wasn't a man, she was a woman. She applauded herself on her restraint from screaming her lungs out but she couldn't stop her knees from collapsing under her or the pained groan that escaped her clenched jaw and tightly pursed lips. She squeezed her eyes shut and wrapped her arms around herself, biting her short nails into her sides.

Sakura's eyes snapped open when she felt a reassuring hand on her shoulder. Moving her head was a painful task but she did it anyways and was met with the gentle white eyes of Hyuuga Hinata. Her hair had grown, Sakura noticed, and she didn't look so timid either. A sympathetic smile spread across the young girls face and for some reason Sakura had the urge to smack that smile right back off.

"The pain will go away soon Sakura-san, but it will take a day or two for you tenketsu to reopen." Her voice was soft, smooth and confident not at all like the Hinata she use to know. Giving the girl a once over Sakura filed away all the information for later use, including the ring that adorned her left hand. Just because she was in pain didn't mean she had to be sloppy in her work, it just meant she had to try harder to focus. An uncomfortably close presence made her snap her head forward just in time to see Naruto reaching over her shoulder for her katana.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Her voice came out hoarse and shaky. Sakura watched the blond hesitate a moment at her words before continuing his reach for her katana. The moment his hand closed around the hilt green and white flames engulfed his hand and sent him rocketing backwards 20 yards into the waiting arms of a tree. She felt the hand of the Hyuuga girl fly off her shoulder as she jumped back a few feet. No matter how she tried she couldn't keep that cocky smirk from her face. "I told you you shouldn't do that dumbass next time listen to me. He's not stupid he knows his master."

Kakashi reached down and hauled Sakura to her feet deciding that if she was well enough to talk then she was also fine enough to stand. Her entire body protested the movement, muscles spasming here and there, shaking like a leaf in a hurricane. Looking at the face of her former teacher she noticed his visible eye was narrowed dangerously. When Kakashi was angry it was a scary thing for all parties involved.

"'He'? What do you mean 'He'?" Sakura didn't let any of her nervousness show on her face but the tone Kakashi held made her want to cry.

"He has a name but I cant pronounce it so I just call him Darkness. You're an idiot if you think im going to tell you any more than that Hatake-san. Uzumaki-san will be alright as long as he doesn't try to pull that stunt again, that was a warning of sorts and you only get one." Kakashi stared at her for a few moments before pulling her forward to walk in front of him.

"Neji, carry Naruto until he is able to stand on his own. We're going back to Konohagakure."

* * *

**Ending Notes: alright kinda sucky and a little lengthy on some of the descriptions but hey that's what prologues are for, setting the stage. So now for those of you who haven't quite figured it out Sakura, Naruto, Hinata and the rest are all 19 with the exception of Gai's team who are 20. Sakura has been a nukenin (missing-nin) for 4 years meaning she left Konoha at the age of 15**

**I don't know how painful having your tenketsu's forced closed really is but im assuming its pretty damn painful and as you can see im not making Sakura into some super strong macho chick who has no weaknesses and such considering 1.) she can't/won't kill someone who use to be her friend 2.) she does feel pain (getting her tenketsu closed) and 3.) Kakashi scares the living shit out of her... but she is strong and she does get a kick ass sword named Darkness that you will find out about later on in the story.**

**As of right now I do have a pairing in mind but im not going to tell you who it is. If you have some suggestions for pairings leave it in a review or send me an e-mail at _trails (underscore) of (underscore) blood666 (at) yahoo (dot) com_ with a subject title of 'fanfiction'... comments and constructive criticism are welcome and listened to and flames are just laughed at... **

**Thanky much! Review!**


	2. Falling Is Easy

_**Disclaimer: and again I do not own Naruto...**_

**A/N: ok here we are back with the first chapter... the previous one was a prologue just to kinda explain how Sakura had changed and what the deal was... I was a little worried at first about my wording... a few friends said I played with my words too much but by the positive reviews obviously not... anyways here we are... review responses first... **

**Uzumaki-Girl - **I think I like your idea concerning Sasuke... I can feel the evil portion of my brain turning about a million miles a minute... reading your review made my day thank you very much!

**cutio - **thank you very much for the praise it is most appreciated

**Midnight-Miko66 - **you read my mind down to the dots I place above my i's... i just don't know what to say... hopefully you will just settle for a very energetic thank you and a promise of more enticing chapters yet to come? THANKY THANKY THANKY!

**EnV - **Weasel Boy and Shark Man are doing what they do best... being lazy...

**sakuxsasuforeva - **well ya see Darkness kinda does, but it's a little more complicated than that... ah just read and find out it with either be in this chapter or the next one... promise

**again thank you all for your reviews...**

"speech"

'_Thoughts'_

_**(flashback)**_

**ok now that that's over...**

**MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE! **

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Remember You, Remember Me  
Chapter 1: Falling Is Easy  
By: trailsofblood aka Wizard

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Sakura threw her head against the wall again just for good measure. Three days in Torture and Interrogation was beginning to get on her nerves. As a ninja she was trained against TI and as a nukenin she was trained against getting mind-fucked. It brought joy to her heart to watch the ANBU flop around like dying fish whenever she avoided their techniques. One time actually made her laugh. They had been trying to pry information of the Akatsuki from her using some powerful genjutsu's that was suppose to cloud her mind when she decided to burst out singing some stupid song Kisame had taught her. 

They had backed away like she was the craziest person to ever walk the earth and it was a contagious disease.

Once again the those boys had saved her life. This wasn't time to think about that though.

Tsunade was due to pay her a visit any moment and she wanted her mind completely clear for that encounter. She was strong but she had no delusions about the legendary ninja, Tsunade could punch her hard enough to send her back to her mother and she didn't feel much like going back to being in diapers so the only other alternative was to be on her best behavior. Learning to control her temper was never high on her list of priorities. She was screwed.

The ANBU hadn't removed her katana, it was still reassuringly strapped to her back sending comforting waves of its presence through her body. Explaining what had happened to Naruto when he attempted to touch Darkness deterred any other from trying the same thing, none of them wanted to find out if it was true or not the hard way. Chickens. They just took her word that she wouldn't try anything. It was the single most foolish thing that anyone had ever done.

At the current moment she didn't have a plan of escape. It was kind of hard to do anyways considering she was locked in a chakra reinforced room that couldn't just be hacked away by her blade, no mater how extraordinary Darkness was. Darkness kept pushing at the back of her consciousness, though, urging her to try to think up something. He obviously didn't like being locked in this room much and with her tenketsu closed she couldn't even send her chakra waves to calm the panic ridden sword.

Sakura pulled on the chains retaining her hands for the thousandth time. They were chewing at her skin and dried blood was cemented to her forearms and finger tips. At least they had the decency to chain her low to the ground, allowing her the pleasure of being able to sit and relax. The shackles that bound her were long enough to allow her some movement of her hands but not long enough to allow her to cross her arms over her chest.

She threw her head back again and let out a frustrated scream. She was never going to get out of here, this was her prison and she would just have to accept it. Her thoughts wondered back to Itachi and Kisame again. Out of all the people she had met in this world, all the people she had gotten close to, those two have helped her the most. She had absolutely no way to repay them for all they had done for her.

_**(flashback)**_

_**She was running. She hated herself for running, it made her feel low and useless. Tears carved their way down her porcelain cheeks and fell like rain off her chin. She couldn't stop them from coming, she hurt too much. She was 15 for gods sake she wasnt suppose to be in this kind of situation! What had she ever done in her life to deserve this? She had always obeyed the rules and been a good girl she didn't mean to do it. She didn't have a choice.**_

_**She was in more trouble that she could comprehend. Sobs were coming at regular intervals now and it was getting hard to run and breath. She was beyond the walls of Konohagakure but she didn't dare stop. They would be coming for her soon and they would kill her. Kill her just like she had killed. She would never be forgiven.**_

_**She wanted to scream that it wasnt her fault but she had a feeling that no one would be listening.**_

_**Closing her eyes she continued to run, letting her instincts guide her through the trees. That was a mistake, as she soon found out, because she failed to see the roots of the trees ahead jutting out from the ground. She hit the dirt with a hard thud that knocked the wind out of her. Dazed she rolled over onto her back and stared helplessly up at the treetops. She gave up. She couldn't outrun Konoha ANBU so why even try?**_

_**"Falling is easy."**_

_**The silky smooth voice vibrated through her. Somewhere deep inside her she knew she wasn't going to like what she saw but it didn't stop her from looking up. Somehow that voice seemed to force her to look upwards without her permission. Teary emerald orbs collided with hardened red once and she froze. Standing with his feet no more than an inch from her skull was the last thing she needed at the moment, Uchiha Itachi.**_

_**His gaze was hypnotizing and no matter how she tried her eyes wouldn't move from his. She knew it was a bad idea to look into those pools, she had seen what looking into them had done to her sensei Kakashi but her eyes were glued to his. She had no idea how long they stayed like that, time seemed to blur into nothing when caught in his stare. Eventually she blinked though, pulling her out of the spell she was bound by and she realized he had spoken to her.**_

_**"Wh-what?" Her voice was airy and soft. Still slightly out of it she missed the small smirk on the murderers face.**_

_**"Falling is easy." He repeated in his monotone voice, never taking his eyes off her.**_

_**She blinked, that was all it took.**_

_**One moment he was above her head and the next moment he was below her feet. It almost made her feel as if she was hallucinating. What he did next only convinced her farther that she wasn't all okay in the head. Bending over slightly he held out his hand to her. "Pulling yourself back onto your feet is the difficult part."**_

_**(end flashback)**_

The slamming of a door pulled Sakura from her reminiscing. Standing before her in timeless youth was Tsunade, Godaime Hokage of Konohagakure. She looked exactly the same as the last time they had encountered one another. Tall and shapely with piercing blue eyes an pale blond hair. An all too happy smile split the womans' face and caused Sakura to cringe. What in the world was she so happy about?

"Enjoying TI Sakura? If you keep hitting your head like that you're going to end up killing yourself." Amusement. The bitch was actually happy about her being locked up. Sakura just let out a scoff and rolled her eyes. It didn't matter if she died, in fact she was hoping she would frustrate these people enough to make them kill her. So far that plan was unsuccessful.

"How have you been doing these past few years? I hear you've reeking havoc all across the continent alongside some nukenin, how did that work out for you? I've been kept busy here doing paperwork, you know how much i hate paperwork..." Tsunade was rambling. Darkness was reacting strange to the Hokages presence and Tsunade was just rambling aimlessly. _'Irritating.'_ Sakura used the toe of her left shoe to remove the heel of her right one. Bringing her foot to her lap she grabbed her right shoe and flung it at the babbling idiot before her.

She wasn't surprised when the woman side-stepped, she hadn't expected it to hit but it at least stopped the constant flow of words from her mouth. Tsunade just raised and amused eyebrow and cocked her head sideways. She stared at Sakura for a moment before pulling the chair from the corner of the room and taking a seat. Resting her chin in her hands Tsunade stared at the imprisoned girl.

"What do you want Hokage-sama." Sakura hadn't meant for her words to betray any emotion but she couldn't stop the venom from dripping into her words.

"Straight to the point, don't you kids know anything about exchanging pleasantries? I've come with a proposition. Help me out, answer a few questions and i promise with my life that you will be cleared of all this and allowed to re-join Konohagakure as one of her shinobi." At this Sakura threw her head back against the concrete wall again, hard. She had heard this a million times, 'tell us what we want to know and you go free'. Come on did these people seriously think her brain was that scrambled? She betrayed enough people in her life she wasnt going to test the limits by betraying a few more.

"Go to hell." was her oh-so-brilliant reply. And it begun.

"Where can i find the Akatsuki?"

"Go to hell."

"Tell me what they're planning."

"Go to hell."

"Why did you kill the ANBU squads sent to bring you home?"

"Go to hell."

"Why did you attack him?"

"GO TO HELL!"

"What happened 4 years ago Sakura?" The soft, pleading tone to Tsunade's voice made Sakura stop. The Hokage's eyes held nothing but concern and it made Sakura's eyes tear up. Dropping her head to fight down the wave of memories she trained her mind on the task at hand.

Darkness stirred.

Snapping her head back up she looked at Tsunade she smirked. It was a cold, feral smile that made her eyes narrow threateningly. She looked like she had just gone off the deep end.

"It wont work Hokage-sama. He wont allow it to work." Tsunade froze. Sakura's voice was low and dangerous, for a moment it seemed as if she was possessed but instincts told her otherwise.

"Who? Are you referring to your katana?" When Sakura didn't reply the Hokage continued. "Naruto told me all about your sword Sakura. Told me that when he tried to touch it some_thing_ threw him backwards. What is your sword?"

"Darkness."

"Darkness? What is this darkness? What does this darkness do?"

To say Tsunade was a little worried would be an understatement. Sakura's words were far away and cold, almost as if she wasn't really there. It was as if the girl had pulled herself into the farthest reaches of her mind and was only answering on auto-pilot. The room felt cold, like something out of a ghost film. There was something not right about that katana and it put Tsunade on edge.

"He protects me." Sakura's voice was a barely audible whisper and Tsunade had to strain her ears to hear it. "He wont allow you to use your mind-fuck techniques on me. He's protecting me from you."

"You speak as if your sword is alive." Her words were shaky and she cursed herself for letting any fear show. Raw terror gripped the legendary kunoichi when her former students eyes rose to meet her own. They were dead, hollow and seemed to suck all life into them and smother it. This wasnt the Sakura she knew, this was the nukenin Sakura had become.

"Wouldn't you like to know?"

Silence filled the room. Neither ninja moved and neither ninja breathed. It was a staring contest between student and teacher. Sakura couldn't control the smile that took over her face, the look Tsunade held was just too amusing. She had the same horrified look that she got whenever she saw blood. Letting out a sigh Sakura closed her eyes and nestled her back against the wall. She was completely satisfied with the outcome of this little meeting and was happy to call it quits for now.

Tsunade had tried to use some strange sort of jutsu on her to get her words flowing. Her friendly companion didn't like that idea too much and decided it was time for her to taste her own medicine. Sakura couldn't use and of her own jutsus but that didn't mean she couldn't use her head. People always feared the unknown whether it be the future, what was creeping around in the blackness of night, or what was waiting around the next corner, all she had done was utilize that fear and turn it on her former sensei.

Only she used the fear of her strange unknown katana. Add in a few theatrics and she had herself one successful, non-jutsu, terrifying mind-fuck. She was a genius.

Tsunade realized it also.

"You had me going, i wont underestimate your intelligence again. Lets get down to business shall we?"

Sakura smiled. "Gladly."

"Where can i find the Akatsuki?" Of course. She had to ask the same damn question as everybody else. What made her think she would get a different answer? Sakura gave the older kunoichi a 'im-slow-could-you-say-that-again' smile.

"Don't know."

"You don't know or you wont tell?"

"Don't know."

"You really do like to repeat yourself don't you? You're telling me you traveled with two of the Akatsuki's golden boys and never found out where the Akatsuki hideout was?" Tsunade was getting irritated, it was evident in her voice.

"You're assuming that just because i traveled with Kisame and Itachi that i was a member or their little tea club."

Tsunade's eyes narrow hazardously. Standing up from her chair she calmly strode over to the sitting girl. Grabbing the back to Sakura's head the sannin yanked her forward as far as her shackles would allow. Sweeping greasy pink hair from her shoulder blades Tsunade smiled. There, tattooed on the rose-haired kunoichi's right shoulder, was a small red cloud. Much like the ANBU tattoos that her elites were forced to get this tattoo was a permanent symbol of where he loyalties lay. Pushing the girl back to her original position roughly Tsunade returned to her chair and rested her chin on her interlaced fingers. Smile still in place.

"Let me guess now you're going to tell me that you got the tattoo because it was pretty? They're going to kill you, you know. The information you contain is much to valuable for them to just leave you alone. Do you honestly think that after being captured by us they are going to allow you live? I can offer you protection if you just tell me what i need to know Sakura."

Sakura just smiled and leaned back against the wall again. This conversation was over, she was tired with it anyways. Closing her lids over green eyes she sang to herself inside her head. It was a song she and sung many times before when she was trying to ignore people. It always made her relax. Smooth soft music drifted through her head and she allowed herself to be pulled with.

She had no idea when Tsunade had left or even how long she was consumed in her mind. All she knew was that when she finally opened her eyes she was alone in the darkend room again. A tear slipped down her pale cheek as she stared at the door on the far side of the room.

Tsunade was right. She wanted to deny it but she knew that every word she spoke was true. The Akatsuki wouldn't allow her to live after this, there was no telling how much information she had divulged to the Konoha shinobi while under interrogation. She knew what she had said and what she hadn't but the others had no reason to believe her. Her options were limited and none have a favorable outcome.

1.) spill everything, be reinstated as a shinobi of Konohagakure and take the risk of being killed by the Akatsuki not to mention be labeled as a betrayer by everyone else

2.) tell nothing and get killed by the shinobi of Konohagakure

3.) escape and be targeted by both Konoha and the Akatsuki or

4.) run back the Akatsuki, be pursued by Konoha, and hope beyond hope that they take her word that she had said nothing

She had no way to prove to the Akatsuki that she didn't say anything. She could allow them to examine her mind but she doubted that Darkness would allow it. Just like he refused to allow the ANBU to do that same thing to her. She wanted to scream. Why couldn't things just go back to the way they were before all this happened? Before she left Konoha, before she decided to become a subordinate of the Akatsuki, before Itachi, before Kisame, before him. Back when everything made sense and she knew her place in life.

Sakura started pulling harshly at her bonds. She didn't care if it took her hands and feet off in the process she just wanted to get out of this place. She wanted to die. If she had enough moving room to draw Darkness she would sheath the damned sword in her belly and be over with it. But she didn't have enough moving room, and she couldn't get out of this place. She was helpless once again.

Calming down she let her weigh drop against the handcuffs allowing them to support her weight. There was nothing she could do but let the tears fall and wait in peaceful solitude.

Or not.

"You look like shit."

A sad smile graced her lips. She didn't bother to look up at who had spoken, she knew the voice and she knew the presence. It wasnt one she could easily forget.

"Nice to see you too..."

* * *

**Ending Notes: dun dun dun who came to visit Sakura now? Is it Sasuke coming to see her? Is it Itachi or Kisame coming to save her? Or could it be... _HIM_?... im going to stop it there... nice isn't it? Kinda boring but the conversation with Tsunade will be important in later chapters... at least it should be if i don't change the story line around too much between now and then... I have a general idea of who 'him' is and what happened between 'him' and Sakura but i have a few details to tweak so yea...**

**Well there ya go you learned something new about Darkness... he wont allow people to MIND-FUCK Sakura... what a nice katana he is... there is more to him though but that will be revealed in the next chapter... should be exciting...**

**Anyways im out... review!**


	3. Escape

_**Disclaimer: me no own Naruto**_

**A/N: sorry sorry i know its been awhile since my last update but i had to play hostess like a good girl while my friend was staying over for new years and she would yell at me every time i tried to write saying things like "there is no need for you to write a story about some stupid Saturday morning cartoon' and it made me cry tear... ok last time we left off with a nice cliffy... so here i am to rectify the problem... but, as always review responses first...**

**butterfly-gr14 - **neither do i Butterfly... neither do i...

**Midnight-Miko66 - **_(backs away very slowly) _pretty please put the chainsaw down? Look i came out with another chapter just for you... _(falls to knees) _please don't hurt me i cant die until i finish the story!

**EnV - **Now you get to see who comes to visit her _(sticks out tongue)... _and i agree 100 percent Itachi is WAY hotter than Sasuke

**Nemuri Shi - **I've never heard Kisame referred to as 'salmon-chan' before that's cute _(grin)_ and you're right it would have been a lot easier for Sakura-chan to kill her friends but that would have been a very short story i mean she only has so many friends...

**and a special thanky to BlackAngelBlood for the invite**

**and a big thanky to all my other reviews**

"speech"

_'thoughts'_

_**(flashback)**_

_(darkness)

* * *

_

Remember You, Remember Me  
Chapter 2:  
By: trailsofblood aka Wizard

* * *

"You look like shit."

A sad smile graced her lips. She didn't bother to look up at who had spoken, she knew the voice and she knew the presence. It wasnt one she could easily forget.

"Nice to see you too. How did you manage to get in here Kisame?" Sakura raised her eyes to the shark man and was met with a smile that showed off razor sharp teeth. That smile stayed frozen in place as he advanced on her. For looking so much like a shark his moves were more feline-ish; graceful, stealthy, and a little feminine if you asked anyone but Kisame. There were some days she swore on everything holy and not that he was gay, now wasnt the time to get into that though.

"Would you believe it, they left you completely unguarded." Stopping in front of her slouched form the infamous nukenin squatted down so he was eye level with her. His smile disappeared and was replaced by an all too serious one. The look sent spikes of fear down her spine to her stomach where they churned. Something wasnt right.

"You're not here to rescue me, are you?" It was a statement not a question so Kisame didn't bother to answer it.

"You know the Leader knows you were captures." Sakura nodded. "You know he isn't very trusting." Another nod. "Then you also know that I've was ordered to dispose of you"

This time Sakura didn't even bother nodding, she just lowered her head in a resigned manner and waited for what was coming. She could give Kisame a run for his money in a fight, she couldn't beat him but she definitely provided a great amount of entertainment for awhile. Although, that was when she wasn't chained to a wall and still had all her chakra in control. The most she could do in this position was kick and scream like a child.

Kisame grabbed her chin and lifted her head, forcing her gaze to meet his. The look on his face was still serious but the edges had softened a bit. Well softened used loosely, his aquatic predator features prevented him from actually looking caring at all.

"Then you know that, in good conscience, i can't carry out that order." Sakura opened her mouth to protest, to tell him to just kill her and get it over with, but he just shook his head and continued. "The Leader knows this also, so we came to an arrangement. You walk out of here with me under one condition, you promise that our Leader has full permission to examine your memories of these last few days without Darkness' interference. He interferes, you die. You told anyone anything, you die. You refuse, you die. I did as much as i could kid the rest is up to you." With that Kisame let go of her chin and stepped back from her.

For the millionth time as of late, Sakura wanted to cry. She had the perfect opportunity to get out of this place and get her life back the way it was, and yet she couldn't take it. She couldn't make the promise he wanted. She hadn't told the ANBU anything that would be of any help whatsoever so she wasnt worried about that aspect. It was Darkness that had her worried.

"I can't make that promise to you Kisame, im sorry." She watched Kisame for a reaction to her words. As usual he showed none, he just stood there watching her as if fighting a war within himself. She didn't doubt that's what he was doing, warring between his conscience that told him to spare her life and his duty to the Akatsuki to kill her.

"Why not." His words were laced with anger that made Sakura cringe.

"I don't have control of my chakra, the Hyuuga's are making sure all my tenketsu's are staying closed. I can't communicate with Darkness, i can feel his presence and he can feel mine but there is no way for us to talk. I can't promise you that he wont interfere without talking to him first."

Kisame studied her for a long time without blinking. He really unnerved her when he was like this. This was his 'on-duty' persona, when he was just relaxing and goofing off between assignments he was a lot less intimidating, all the Akatsuki were. It was strange at first to even imagine that these people, these world renown and feared shinobi, were actually just as human as everyone else. Being emotionless killers was all part of the disguise, one she was taught and expected to learn very quickly.

"How long do you they stay closed for?"

"Im not sure, one Hyuuga or another comes in here every morning and re-closes them. A former friend told me that they will only take a day or two to open again but that has yet to be proved." Kisame nodded, accepting her answer.

"If the Hyuuga can close them then it's relatively reasonable that they can open them again correct?"

Sakura knew where he was going with this, and didn't like it one bit. He was going to capture a Hyuuga and force them to open her tenketsu's so she could talk with her sword. Once the wheels in that thick skull of his got turning there was absolutely no way to stop them. He tended to have a very single-track mind and currently that one track was determined to find away around having to 'dispose' of her.

"Is there are problem in here or are you two just chatting it up."

Sakura tilted her head around Kisame to see the tall, lean frame of Itachi standing in the doorway. She should have guessed, where you find one the other is always close by. Today was obviously Itachi's turn for guard duty while Kisame got to have the fun. That is if they took pleasure in killing her.

Kisame spoke without even turning around to acknowledge the other mans presence. "We've run into a slight problem. The kid had her tenketsu's closed by a Hyuuga so she cant access her chakra, therefore is unable to speak with Darkness which means she can't promise his lack or interference. Im thinking that we need a Hyuuga to undo the damage that has been done so we can just take the kid home."

"Do what you have to do and do it soon, they will be changing guards in little under 30 minutes. I don't much feel like waiting my energy on more ANBU." And with that the Uchiha disappeared from the doorway again. Kisame sighed and looked to the shackled form of Sakura.

"It's worth a shot. I guess i will be back shortly with a hostage, any preferences?"

"A younger one will be easier to control, but if they're too young they may not be much help. A head member if you can and for Kami's sake stay away from Neji."

Kisame nodded and disappeared leaving Sakura, yet again, alone in the room with nothing to do but twiddle her thumbs. This was becoming tedious, for future reference she was going to avoid being thrown in another TI room for the rest of her natural life, even if it meant killing herself. She had needs to tend to, like the need to shower, the need to eat, and the need to go to the freaking bathroom.

She was so close to being let out of this hell hole and her first order of business would be a bathroom break followed very closely by a nice, long, hot bath. Then would come food if they still had time to spare. Ah she was almost back to the good life, just a little while longer.

* * *

Kisame had no problems finding the Hyuuga estate. Years ago Itachi had given him a very intricate tour of his former village pointing out obvious weaknesses and important places, the Hyuuga mansion being one of them. Although Itachi had pointed it out as a place to avoid not a place to take a hostage from, but whatever, he had things that needed to be done and done quickly.

After making sure no guards were around he jumped over the eastern most wall and landed himself right in a bush. Luckily he had missed the thorn bush by a few yards, that one would have been painful. He peaked through the foliage into what seemed to be a garden and waited. It was only about an hour after dark but the lanterns scattered across the garden landscape gave him enough light to see by and with the addition of the moon it was like high noon to him. It wasnt late so someone had to be up yet and with all the people living in this place he figured someone would come through the gardens soon enough.

If not he would just have to go seeking his prey.

He didn't have to wait long before two presences approached from the south. There was no way to tell how old the two were but they had pretty damn good chakra control meaning they would suit his purpose just fine. Carefully pulling Samehada from his back he rocked forward on the front pads of his feet and watched from his vantage point.

The two rounded a hedge and came into view. The first was obviously a Hyuuga from her white eyes and dark colored hair but the other brought a feral smile onto Kisame's face. The second was a personal favorite of his and Itachi's. Though he had grown tremendously in the last 4 years he was unforgettable. Blond hair, blue eyes, whiskers, and attitude that just screamed of energy, yep that boy was the Kyuubi vessel.

This complicated things a bit, the boy was strong, no doubt stronger than Kisame when he wanted to be, but Sakura's fate lay in the girl he was walking with. Still he decided to wait a few moments more and observe them before making his move, maybe he would spy some kind of weakness that he could utilize. If not he would just have to pop in grab the girl and pop out before the vessel knew what hit him.

But there was a weakness. It was only a slight movement and he almost missed it but it was there. The Hyuuga girl had faltered in her step a little and the vessel had hooked a finger around one of hers to steady her a bit. The vessel had feelings for this girl and she for him. It was the best weakness he could have hoped for.

Jumping from his hiding spot he landed behind the girl before either could detect him and had pulled the girl against his chest. By the time he had gotten Samehada protectively in front of them the vessel had realized what was happening and was pulling kunai from his hip pouch. By the time the boy had released his first kunai it was too late and Kisame had jumped backwards with the girl.

"Scream pretty girl and i kill you and find another." Kisame warned as he pulled Samehada closer to her, careful not to touch her and drain her chakra. "Same goes for you vessel, wouldn't want to have to harm your precious kunoichi."

"Let her go Akatsuki." The boy demanded holding a kunai poised in front of him.

"I think not. You see, i have plans for this pretty girl." Kisame replied backing up a little more.

"If its me you want then take me and let her go. I will come with you peacefully." It was obvious the vessel was getting desperate but this was a battle he wouldn't win.

"This world doesn't revolve around you ya know. I need this girl, she's going to help me with a problem a friend has. Speaking of which i would love to stay and catch up but i have a deadline. Don't worry as long as she cooperates i wont hurt her too much."

Before he even had a chance to retort Kisame was gone and Naruto stood alone in the gardens of the Hyuuga estate. Without a moments pause he too vanished, He had to warn the village. He had to warn the Hokage... he had to save Hinata

* * *

"You're late."

"Sorry, its clear across the village to the Hyuuga estate then i had to wait for someone i could use. It's not like i could just walk into the house and ask to borrow one of their members."

Itachi raised an eyebrow "You could have hurried a bit getting here, i had to dispose of the second guard and deal with the first leaving the building."

Kisame just rolled his eyes at the Uchiha and pushed the Hyuuga hostage towards the open door a bit. Itachi was just pissed that he was stuck with lookout duty while he got to jump around the city. Itachi got to kill people though, and he had yet to have his chance. It would come soon enough though.

Pushing the Hyuuga through the door a shoe firmly me Kisame's head. Taking a moment to blink in surprise he looked at Sakura. If looks could kill he would have died a horribly slow and painful death.

"You took long enough baka! Now get me the hell out of here!"

"It couldn't be helped." Kisame sighed, "Here's the deal little girl, you reopen the kids tenketsu's and i let you live."

Hinata's eyes widened with a horrified look, Sakura was the friend that needed help? "I-i-i don't th-think i can d-do that. I-it's impos-sible."

Sakura glared at the dark haired woman. She thought Hinata would have gotten over the whole stuttering thing by now. She didn't seem so shy and timid when she was apprehending her before. Then again the Akatsuki brought out the worst in people, their whole reputation was based off fear and little else. Perhaps Hinata wasn't as strong as she had once thought.

"Do what you can Hyuuga-san. I only need a few of the most used ones open." Sakura's voice was commanding and emotionless. It amazed the Akatsuki boys how easily she slid into character when it was needed. She nodded towards Kisame and Itachi and the two took a step back from the Hyuuga, blocking the door in case of a break for it.

Hinata took that as her cue to go to Sakura and kneeled in front of the bound kunoichi. Activating her Byakugan she scanned Sakura's tenketsu's looking for any weakened ones that she could pierce. After her once-over she nodded to herself and scooted closer to Sakura.

"Give me your hands." Doing as commanded Sakura held her hands out to the girl. Lacing her fingers through Sakura's Hinata began to push her chakra in through the tenketsu's in Sakura's hands, forcing her chakra through the girls system and out various weakened points. The whole process was over quick and left the pink-haired girl writhing in pain, then again did they really expect it to be painless? Forcing an foreign chakra into another system wasn't an easy, or highly recommended, thing. At least it got the job done.

Sakura stayed still for a few moments and waited for the pain to subside before turning her attention back to the people in the room with her. Hinata still looked terrified, Itachi looked ready to kill and Kisame looked amused. _'Glad my pain brings someone pleasure. Note to self: kill the bastard.'_

"Unbind me." were the only words she could choke out at the moment but Itachi complied. Using the keys he had taken off the guard he carefully slid her wrists from their shackles but left her feet in place for the moment.

"First speak with Darkness, then we will unbind your feet." His voice was soft but firm. It annoyed the prisoner but that's how he always was with her. She blamed it on his need for constant dominance. Sakura just sighed and focused her chakra on the faint link in the back of her mind. She reached out and wrapped her chakra around that small cord and followed it back to its source: Darkness.

She had given him the name Darkness for a reason, whenever she tried to reach out to him through their link she was met with a dark, sinking, sickening, uncertain, empty feeling. It reminded her of a simple void. In that place just before she touched him nothing beautiful or peaceful could be found. There was no sound, just feelings, but every time she entered this foreboding area she always thought she heard one thing: Remember you. This place reminded her too much of darkness to not name if for that reason. And so Darkness was born.

_(so nice of you to finally join me again Sakura. why the hell did you allow yourself to get into this situation!)_

_'I'm sorry my friend, it seemed like the right thing to do at the time.'_

_(i care not, I've drained myself enough trying to stop these shinobi from entering your mind, be a little more thoughtful next time)_

_'I thank you for that but i have something i need to speak to you about'_

_(and that would be what exactly)_

_'I need you to not interfere with a mind scan...'_

_(if you didn't want my help you could have just...)_

_'No, its not that, I've...'_

_(i know Sakura, and you have my word. Can we spill some blood now?)_

_'Yes, lets...'_

Sakura looked up into the crimson eyes of Itachi and smirked. "Unbind me."

Taking this as a confirmation Itachi did as she asked. It felt good to have her binds off, but her body was stiff from lack of use. All her muscles were tight and standing proved to be a struggle in itself. Perhaps she wouldn't participate in the battle to come. Feeling a wave of anger and disappointment from Darkness she threw that idea out the window. Maybe she could just participate long enough to satiate Darkness? Kisame brought her out of her thoughts.

"What do we do with the girl?"

"Kill her." Was Itachi's reply and Kisame was more than happy to abide. It didn't sit too well with Sakura though.

"No!" She stepped in front of Hinata and held an arm out, stopping Kisame from advancing on the girl. Once satisfied that satisfied that he wasn't going to decapitate her former friend she turned the Hinata. "Im sorry."

Then Hyuuga Hinata's world went black.

* * *

"Was it a good idea just to leave her there like that?" Kisame asked as the trio landed on another rooftop. So far they had successfully avoided detection, they only had a few more blocks to go before they were home free.

"They won't find her until they change guard, which wont be for another few hours at least. By then we will be gone from here and have had safely vanished to nothingness in the woods." Even though she knew it could happen theoretically, she had a feeling it wouldn't turn out quite as they planned. It never did.

Taking her word as truth the three of them continued on in silence. That was what disturbed her the most, Kisame said he had encountered Naruto, well 'the vessel' in his words, and yet there were no shinobi around the hinder their escape. Maybe they had backed off in hope that they would leave in peace avoiding bloodshed? Sakura snorted, yea right the chances of that were slim. Yet the entire world was silent.

Stopping as a group they spun around simultaneously. Where their forms had been a moment before stood 2 ANBU squads, eight men in total. Carefully reaching back Sakura laid her hand on Darknessess' hilt. She didn't want to use him if she could avoid it, she liked to keep the secret of his powers between herself and the dead.

"Sakura, go on ahead. Kisame and I will deal with them." Before Sakura could even refuse the Akatsuki leaped at their followers. Tightening her hold Sakura slid Darkness began to pull Darkness from his sheath.

_(listen to your superiors for once and keep moving)_

_'But..'_

_(no... GO!) _

The sheer force of her katanas' words were enough to get her feet moving, even if her mind refused to obey. They would be alright without her, they always were. She only made it a few blocks before she stopped and spun again, this time to her left. The Gods obviously didn't want her get very far.

Four figures stood on the rooftop parallel to her. Backlit by moonlight their faces were cast in shadows, but their presence was something that was clear as day to her. She knew these shinbobi and she also knew she was screwed. The fates were not kind to little nukenin girls with blood on their hands because before her stood four of Konoha's powerhouses. Hatake Kakashi, Hyuuga Neji, Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke.

_'Tonight is so not my night.'_

_(we dance?)_

Sakura sighed, '_We dance.'_

She didn't know who the first to move was, but it started so quickly she barely kept up. Throwing stars. Someone was throwing kunai. Shit that one caught her in the leg. Exploding tag coming in from the right, jump back. Something caught her in the shoulder, she could smell the blood beginning to flow. That hurt. Smoke bomb. Fire. Senbon. Attack back baka. Sharingan. FUCK!

Jumping backwards some distance she watched the giant cloud the smoke bomb had created. Only one was in there, where were the other three?

_(draw me damnit!)_

In the barrage of attacks she had forgotten about her trusty sword. She didn't think he would be much help if she couldn't keep up with their advances but, hell, it was worth a try. At least it gave her something to focus on. Pulling up and forward on the hilt she removed Darkness from his sheath. His deep black blade caught the moonlight and seemed to suck it in, no light glinted off him like on normal steel. Light green and white flames licked their way up the sharp edge of the sword making the whole thing look like a work of art meant for looking not bloodshed, fortunately for her he was designed just for that.

_(ah i can taste them. left!)_

Doing as commanded she swung her sword to the left catching the fabric of Kakashi's shirt leaving a long tear right across his chest. She missed, damnit, how could she miss? Kakashi jumped back in surprise and but stood ready, kunai perched in his hand. She kept her eyes trained on her ex-sensei but kept all her senses open for the next attack.

_(fear not master, they are just observing for the time being. be careful though, they are searching for a weakness.)_

Nodding to herself more than Darkness she held him out in front of her in a ready position just waiting for Kakashi's attack. A prickling tickled her senses and she swung the katana behind her just in time to stop a kunai from hitting her. Taking the obvious advantage Kakashi charged, hands forming a seal. Mentally cursing herself for being stupid she jumped to the side just before his hands collided with her. Correcting her position she faced Kakashi again. This was getting ridiculous. Where were Itachi and Kisame, they couldn't have been held up that long with the other ANBU squad.

Kakashi straightened himself and turned to Sakura. She avoided looking at his now visible Sharingan eye, instead focusing on his collarbone.

"Haruno Sakura you have proven yourself a true nukenin this night. We have no choice but to kill you." If she hadn't known any better she would have sworn there was a hint of sadness and regret in Kakashi's normally emotionless voice. She did know better though, he hated people who betrayed their village almost as much as he hated people who betrayed their friends. She was both.

"Understood. Let us fight, Kakashi-san, not as former allies but as enemies. It will be a fight to remember for eternity."

But of course nothing ever went according to plan when Sakura was involved. Itachi and Kisame chose this time to make their grand appearance. They were a site to see, blood spattered across their bodies and a craze grin plastered to Kisame's face. He must have had fun with his victims versus just taking care of them. It was so like Kisame to take his joy of killing to an un-needed level.

"I'm sorry Sakura but this 'fight of fights' will have to take place another time. Go." Ok, Itachi was really starting to piss her off. What made him think he got to have all the fun and she got to do nothing? Looking at the shinobi who had joined Kakashi she sighed. She couldn't kill her past friends. She would have to get over that someday but if it didn't have to be today. The longer she didn't have to deal with it the better for her.

Nodding at her command she took off towards the training fields. She missed the motion Kakashi made but she didn't miss the bodies following her. The didn't even try to hide themselves, perhaps they wanted her to attack them. It would make their job easier she supposed, give the justification for killing her. She wasn't about to hand that kind of thing to them though, she was going to make them squirm.

Stopping in the middle of team sevens old training ground she turned to her pursuers, sword drawn and ready.

"Brings back memories doesn't it? The three of us, this training ground, it's just like old times." She saw the boys twitch and continued, "This time is different though, you can feel it can't you? Im not here to train and im not the weak girl i was when you knew me. Im here to kill and im stronger than you know."

"You were never weak Sakura-chan, you were one of the strongest girls i knew." Naruto countered but Sakura just laughed.

"On of the strongest girls you knew? After Tsunade of course, and Hinata, Ino and TenTen right?" His silence spoke volumes, "So tell me Uzumaki-san, how many other girls do you know?"

"That's not the point! You were our friend Sakura, why would you do this?"

"That's the mystery isn't it, why would sweet, innocent, Sakura betray her village and her friends? Im not going to tell you Uzumaki-san. And you're right, we were friends, operative word being 'were' as in past tense, as in no longer." She just waved the boys off with her hand and resumed her defensive stance. "By the way, congratulations on your engagement Uzumaki-san."

"I would invite you to the wedding but, you see, we have this strict 'no bitch' policy." Naruto smirked. Sakura followed the suit.

"I hope Hinata's fully recovered by then, if she recovers at all." Naruto just paled, eyes wide and trembling.

"He got to you didn't he." Sasuke's voice surprised her, he still sounded like the little boy she knew before. He still held the emotionless tone with an undercurrent of anger. Sasuke was Sasuke and some things never change.

"Who?"

"Of all the people you could travel with, become friends with, become allies with, you had to choose the worst person in this world."

That was it, Sakura snapped.

"You know nothing of you brother! This conversation is over... FIGHT ME!"

Sakura charged, Darkness held low to the side just like she had been taught. Sasuke was her first target and he met her advance with his own ANBU issue katana. Giving an order to Darkness she sent shocks of electricity up her katana and down his shocking his body into temporary convulsions. It wasn't something she used her chakra for or made seals for, therefore he couldn't see through it and copy it, which is why she chose it. It was one of Darknessess' very own attacks, weak but effective.

Spinning she bolted towards Naruto katana still crackling. Instead of meeting her attack as Sasuke had he spun out of the way the best he could. She still ended up catching him on his upper arm but completely missed the heart at which she was aiming. Didn't matter though it still sent a jolt of lightning through him. It wasn't as strong as the force she hit Sasuke with but it was cause him to hit his knees. By the time she spun again Sasuke was on her, Sharingan blazing.

She tried to avoid the katana blade best she could but it still ended up embedded in the right side of her abdomen. Time stood still for a moment before she regained her senses enough to dislodge herself and jump away from the boys. She ignored the pain coursing through her side and took her stance again. She wouldn't miss this time, she wouldn't make the mistake of turning her back, she couldn't afford it. Angling her katana downward she braced herself for the next attack.

_(you're draining me)_

_'I know.'_

_(this has to end soon)_

_'I know.'_

_(stop pussy-footing around and kill the bastards already)_

_'Shut up!'_

_(give me the order Sakura)_

_'Use it'_

_(gladly)_

Liquid white flames engulfed the katana and dripped from the tip, searing the grass before absorbing into the ground. They soon gave way to green flames that then restored the foliage that had died. For a few moments it repeated this process; white, death, green, life, white, death, green, life. Sakura looked up from Darkness towards the wide-eyed boys and smirked.

This was Darknessess' true power. By imbedding the katana in her victim she could make him die a thousand deaths, literally, and each one would be quick but agonizing as Darkness sucked the life from his victim. This was the ultimate kill.

"Let me introduce you to the end." Sakura charged.

"We wont let you!" Naruto screamed forming a rasengan ball in his hand. Following the suit Sasuke quickly charged his chidori and changed alongside his comrade and friend.

The force of which the attacks met each other was mind-blowing. They reacted to each other and sent all parties hurling backwards. Sakura slammed against an invisible barrier and bones cracked. It was a sickening sound that resonated through the area and made the boys stomachs turn. They had only been sent flying a few meters, each taking half of the attack force while Sakura had gotten double.

Her form was limp, bloody and looked strangely like a broken ragdoll. Neither boy moved for a long time not took their eyes off of their fallen friend. Breaths came in ragged gasps and they tried to regain their composure. Insides were twisting and turning, threatening to up heave all substances in attempt to settle. Who would have thought that Sakura, sweet little weak Sakura, could drain them so.

Standing on wobbly legs Naruto took a few shaky steps towards her spent form. He was a firm believer that no one, no matter how corrupt or blood-stained, deserved to die alone. Someone as important to him as Sakura had once been definitely didn't deserve that fate so, like he had done with so many before, he would sit by her side until her last breath was drawn. It was his only way to apologize for what he had done. Sasuke stood to follow.

_(sakura? sakura! damnit woman get up! ugh...) _

Sasuke and Naruto froze as a brilliant iridescent light enveloped the training area and for a second seemed to stand still before retracting in rapidly leaving an all encompassing dark in its place. Nothing could be seen any which way you looked but a concentration of pure energy next to the unconscious form of Sakura. A moment later everything returned to normal.

Well, almost.

Standing next to the fallen kunoichi was a man. Short white hair stood up in spikes on his head while a long white braid fell over his should to the hip. Deep purple eyes were trained on the two ANBU boys as golden pupils contracted in anger. Black clothes hung loosely on the body of a lean, battle hardened warrior and an empty sheath was clipped to his hip. Nothing moved, not even the wind.

"Im sorry but this is where the battle ends." The strangers voice was deep and threatening but he made no move towards the boys, instead turning his attention to Sakura's limp form. His voice was soft and apologetic when he next spoke. "So you are human after all. Lets go home Sakura."

Bending down he picked up Sakura's katana and slid it into the sheath at his side before carefully picking up the woman. Soft pink hair spilt over his arm, illuminated by the moonlight, as the man cradled her head close to his chest. He looked back at Naruto and Sasuke for a moment, eyes still hard, before turning his back to them and beginning to walk away.

"Who are you? Where are you going with Sakura?" Naruto cried, desperately willing his legs to move. The strange man stopped and turned his head slightly.

"If you have to ask then you are not as intelligent as i had once thought." Continuing on his form faded into the darkness. "We will continue this later, it will not be so easy for you then."

Naruto and Sasuke could do nothing but stare at where they had once been.

* * *

It was no wonder why Sakura had warned him to stay away from Hyuuga Neji; the man was pretty damn near unbeatable. Kisame had never had such a good fight in his life! Well unless you count the few times him and Itachi had gotten into it for one reason of another, but this time was different, this time the prize was death. Him and Itachi had their hands so full with the two ANBU that they barely had time to wonder how Sakura was faring. They could only hope she was doing better than they were, but hope was all they had.

Both of them knew the little girls limits, even with her killer sword, and she had to be reaching them. Until they could figure out how to get out of this mess the kunoichi was on her own. Itachi was holding his own pretty well against the copy-nin and Kisame was pretty even with the Hyuuga but it was still a nice little scuffle. The appearance of a limp Sakura in the arms of some weirdo pretty much put a halt to it though. Everyone stopped to look at the man who emerged from the darkness.

"Itachi, Kisame, come, we're leaving." Kisame smiled, he didn't have to be told twice, Itachi was another story. He didn't move an inch. The newcomer sighed and walked towards Itachi, holding out the form of Sakura. Depositing the girl in Itachi's hands the man ran a blood-soaked hand through his hair, leaving a red streak in its wake.

"Take Sakura and leave, i will deal with these boys and catch up."

Itachi growled. "Who are you to order us around."

"My name is of no importance, you know me as Darkness." was the only thing he said before drawing his sword and turning towards Neji and Kakashi. Itachi just nodded and took off with Kisame hot on his heels. Turning his full attention to his opponents a sweet smile spread across his handsome face. "As Sakura says, 'let me introduce you to the end."

* * *

**Ending Notes: Im not entirely sure i like the way this turned out... i may go back and edit it at a later date but for now it will have to do since its been too long since my last update... BLAME IT ON EVIL ANIME HATERS! (aka my friend that came to visit me)... if only she had let me write when inspiration came maybe this would have turned out better... oh well it gets the basic point across for now...**

**so there you go Darknessess' favorite attack and his true form...**

**now i must get SLEEP (hugs pillows) sweet sleep that has eluded me because i couldn't update...**

**Review!**


	4. Awakenings

_**Nope still don't own Naruto**_

**A/N: and again here i am back with another chapter... the plot for this story somewhat disintegrated so im tweaking it a bit to make it a little more stable... bear with me through this chapter... well review responses.**

**Nemuri Shi - **you're lucky i play video games or i would not have the slightest idea what you were talking about... i suppose Darkness looks a bit like some of them... he's got the white hair like Sepiroth or Kadaj but its short and spiky on the top similar to what Cloud's looks like but you know how Yuna has that really freaking long braid in FFX-2? He's got one of those but it isn't quite as long... ya know i never realized until now how well he would fit into FF _(sweatdrop)_ for body structure think Ichigo from Bleach... if you don't know who he is google image him, i can't think of a better way to describe him ... ok anyway... yes nukenin is missing-nin and i can't tell you why Sakura-chan is a nukenin cuz you gotta read the story to find that out not that it's THAT big a deal in the scheme of things _(insert sickeningly sweet grin here)_ anywho here's your update

**big thanky to all the people who review every chapter it's you people who keep me writing... and thanky to all others who review and remember if you have questions i would be more than happy to answer them...**

**READ ME! Nemuri Shi made a comment about a pic of Darkness... i talked to a friend of mine who drew a rough sketch for me... the colored pic is still in progress but if you would like to see the sketch there is a link in my profile to it...  
**

"speech"

'_thoughts'_

_**(flashback)**_

_**

* * *

**_

Remember You, Remember Me  
Chapter 3: Awakenings  
By: trailsofblood666 aka Wizard

* * *

The first sensation to return to her upon awakening was the burning pain. It hurt to move, it hurt to breathe, and it hurt to think. Her entire body was on fire from the roots of her hair to the tips of her toes. It was also how she knew she wasn't dead, and god wouldn't be so cruel as to make her hurt this much. Then again maybe she wasn't in heaven; that was always a very real possibility. 

Slipping her eyes open slowly Sakura was met with deep nothingness. For one disoriented moment she thought she had gone blind but a sliver of light from under a door proved that assumption wrong. Turning her head sideways slightly she tried to make out anything distinctive in the place she was being held. No matter how much she strained her eyes she couldn't see beyond the darkend void. Positioning her elbows, she began to sit up.

"Keep still."

The strange voice came from everywhere and nowhere at once. It bounced off the walls of the room and echoed back to her several times before falling silent again. Opening her senses, she scanned the room for the source only to be met with more nothingness. Shaking her head slightly she pushed herself up very slowly. The fire in her body flared and she was overcome with pain that made her arms collapse from under her. Her breaths came in short gasps and shaky moans as she tried to still the pain.

"I told you to keep still."

A small flame ignited to her right and cast a dancing light across the room. It was a room Sakura recognized; it was the room she often rented out at the inn she preferred. Turning her head to the far corner of her room, she looked at the man who sat there. His knees were propped up providing an arm rest for him. Short white spikes of hair fell over his eyes shading them from view while he chewed on the tip of his long white braid. He looked almost depressed.

"You took quite a beating Sakura." Gold pupiled violet eyes slammed against her own emerald ones and he let the braid drop from his mouth. Sakura just grunted her agreement and carefully positioned herself so she was more comfortable.

"What's the diagnosis Dr. Darkness?"

"You hit against the barrier those men erected when their attacked pushed you back. The left side of your body took the brunt of the impact so it's more banged up than the right. You have six broken ribs, there was a small shatter on the left side of your pelvic bone, your tibia was fractured and you left shoulder was completely crushed. Someone had to be brought in to repair the damage to your shoulder and you may never have a full range of motion in it again, even with extensive training on it. The kunai wound in your shoulder was infected for a few days but that seems to have cleared up. You lost a lot of blood from the katana you took the stomach so you may be weak for a while to come. To top it off you had a really bad concussion, im surprised you regained consciousness at all let alone this quickly. The long term effects have yet to be decided."

Sakura just listened to the damage report in silence, absorbing the information with a grim smile. All in all, she was fucked. She needed to be up and moving again in order to keep herself from being found, being bound to bed wasn't an option for her. Closing her eyes she let herself sink farther into the bed. There had to be some way to work around this.

"How long have i been out?"

"Two weeks."

Sakura's eyes snapped open. Two weeks was far too long to be in a single spot. She had no doubts that Konoha had sent their elites after them. They always did. Ignoring the pain she pushed herself back up into a sitting position. The world around her swam in circles and she put a hand to her forehead to ease the nausea. A soft hand on her shoulder pushed her back down onto the mat. She turned her head and met Darknessess' gaze. His eyes were sad and sympathetic with the undercurrent of anger that never seemed to fade.

"Keep still. You've healed remarkably fast given the injuries you took but it will still be some time before you're mobile again. I will have the healer come take another look at your injuries a little later in the morning. Rest for now."

"Where are Itachi and Kisame?"

"They said they had some things to take care of. I don't know anything beyond that. I don't think they trust me much."

Sakura smiled at her friend and tool. If she hadn't seen him in this form before then she wouldn't have exactly trusted him either. He was a frightening character in his own right. The fact that his eyes always portrayed anger didn't help him much but it wasn't something he could control; it was the way he was stuck for all eternity.

"It's been a long time since you were last in that form. I think the last time i saw you like this was during that assassination mission in Kirigakure a little over two years ago and neither Itachi nor Kisame was around to see you. Why are you transformed now?"

"Someone had to get you away from Konoha, the Akatsuki had their hands full so it was the only way. Unfortunately i used the last of my strength getting you away from that village safely."

"So you're stuck?"

Darkness shrugged. "For the time being. My strength returns slower in this form than my other one. I should only be stuck for a day or two, a week tops. I think i prefer this body anyway."

The door chose that moment to open. Two very muddy, very angry, Akatsuki walked in. Their clothes were slightly torn and a little blood oozed from a nick on Itachi's cheek. Chocking her head sideways she stared at the odd pair, not quite sure if she should ask.

"His fault." Pointing at each other the two spoke in unison. Sakura couldn't help but smile. Itachi and Kisame were worse that children sometimes but they never failed to provide entertainment.

"Was not. If you would have just given me the..." Kisame began but Itachi had to interrupt.

"Don't finish that sentence." Grabbing a change of clothes the Uchiha slunk to the door. "Im going to bathe." Slamming the door behind him Sakura and Darkness were left with one shark man grinning like an idiot.

"If he would have just given me the damned du..."

"I TOLD YOU NOT TO FINISH THAT SENTENCE!"

Nearly jumping through the roof Kisame just grabbed his change of clothes and flew out the door after Itachi, leaving a very confused kunoichi and an amused humanoid sword behind. She tried, but Sakura couldn't keep the chuckle down, she truly loved those boys. They saved her life when she ran away from Konoha and they protected her for the next four years to come, helping her grow along the way. Someday she would repay them for everything they had done, Darkness too.

She would find a way.

By the time Kisame and Itachi had come back from the bath house the medic/healer type person had come and gone leaving Sakura in almost unbearable pain and pissy mood. Darkness took the arrival of the Akatsuki as his cue to run away very quickly with his tail between his legs while rubbing the goose egg on his forehead. Give an angry girl the skills of an assassin and it was a scary scary thing. The two returning men just watched in confusion as a black and white blur whizzed by then out the door screaming something along the lines of 'have fun'.

Then they turned to Sakura.

Steam was practically rising off of her she was so angry. Her face was tinted red in frustration and her eyes held a highly dangerous glint to them. Without stopping or a moments pause Kisame spun on his heel and went right back out the door leaving Itachi to deal with the scary female. After a few minute staring contest the Uchiha carefully made his way over to Sakura catching the kunai that was aimed at his head.

"Stay away from me asshole." Ignoring her Itachi plopped down next to her on the futon. Grabbing the blanket he pulled it up to his chest and gently guided to raving girl to a laying position next to him. Wrapping his arms around Sakura's torso he allowed her to wiggle around for a bit before finally settling down half laying on him with her head on his shoulder hands playing idly with his fishnet shirt. **(a/n: ok say it with me... AWWWWW)**

"How long?"

Sakura sighed, "Dr.Crazy says i need to stay put for at the very least three more days, he recommends a week."

The Akatsuki dog just nodded and tightened his grip around the kunoichi a bit. He knew he shouldn't be holding her like this, holding her so close to his body, arms wrapped so comfortably around her. It was wrong. He didn't love Sakura, he cared for her, sometimes lusted after her, but he didn't love her. Love was something you had to believe in before it could happen and the only thing he believed in was that everything eventually died. He was just around to speed up the dying process, a tool of death.

But she was so damn soft and warm, and too damn trusting...

He waited until she was asleep before he stealthily slid from her hold carefully untangling her fingers from his shirt. Three days and she would be mobile again which meant he had three days to get things in order. This was the calm before the storm that would destroy everything. He could feel it coming, lunging towards them like a chained dog and he had no way to stop it. There was a time many moons ago when he could have taken measures to prevent it but he let it draw closer to its goal.

Taking one last look at the sleeping girl that was his friend, teammate and sometimes lover he slipped silently out the door. He had to find Kisame.

It was almost time.

* * *

Tsunade fell heavily into her chair. As if the day to day dealings of a Hokage weren't enough for her now she had to deal with the whole 'Sakura escaped' thing. Just to add insult to injury three of her Jounins were stuck in the hospital in comatose states and no one had any idea how the hell they landed there. Two weeks of ANBU squads scouring the area and no one had found the pink hair kunoichi yet. From what she had been told by Sasuke and Naruto, Sakura had been unconscious and on the brink of death before some man came and took her away, unless she was Naruto there was no way she would heal that quickly and how far could someone run with a nearly dead ninja? I mean come on the conditions were in their favor! 

According to her reports her squads had checked every nook, cranny, house and inn within a 600km radius of the village and there was no sign of Sakura, the Akatsuki, or the unknown man. Tsunade refused the believe that they just disappeared off the planet but it seemed they had. Dropping her head to the desk she sighed, she didn't want to hurt her former student but the girl was leaving her few other options. If only she would just explain what had happened perhaps this whole mess could be cleared up.

A knock at the door brought Tsunade out of her thoughts. She barked a harsh 'enter' and didn't bother raising her head as the person stepped into the office. She didn't much care.

"Hokage-sama, Hatake Kakashi has awoken and is requesting an audience with you."

Now she cared. Snapping her head up she smile at the Jounin in front of her. At the wave of her hand he disappeared and Tsunade took off as fast as she could towards the hospital. Well as fast as she could without looking like a madwoman.

Kakashi looked like hell for having slept for two weeks. For once the copy-nin actually looked his age; deep lines from years of worrying fanned out from both visible eyes. His mask was still in place as always but his forehead protector that covered his Sharingan eye had been removed for better access. He was tired, thin, and obviously depressed. She would be too if she had to spend so much time in a hospital bed, but his reasons were different. He focused both eyes on her when she entered, and flashed her a quick, sad smile under his mask.

"How are you feeling?"

Kakashi shrugged. "Been better i suppose."

"You wanted to see me Kakashi?"

The elite ninja nodded slowly and dropped his head while a million memories flooded his mind. Sorting through them he chose the most recent of them and sighed. "I need to see Sakura's file, most likely the rest of the Rookie Nine and Gai's team too."

Tsunade arched a delicately curved eyebrow. "Why?"

"Just something that was said during the battle that put me here. Something doesn't feel right about the situation. We have to be missing something."

Tsunade thought for a moment. She had gone over Sakura's file countless times in the past four years and nothing seemed odd or misplaced about it. She had regularly read it to try to figure out what was going through the kunoichi's head. It was as thick as someone her age would normally have and the girl was only 19. She liked to get into trouble all over the continent.

"On condition." At Kakashi's nod Tsunade continued. "I will give you full access to those files for a period of time if you tell me exactly what happened out there to put you and Neji into two week coma's. Consider it your mission report, no formalities, just the story."

For a few minutes Kakashi seemed to be lost inside his head. He stared blankly at his hands and didn't move, barely took breaths. His eyes portrayed emotions that were rare for the stoic man. For the first time Tsunade could remember he actually looked completely and utterly sad. It wouldn't have surprised her a bit if tears had started rolling from his eyes, though he kept his emotions more in check than that.

"My squad caught up with Sakura five blocks from the main gates and she stopped. Neji was the first to attack beyond that it was chaos for a few minutes. A smoke bomb was thrown, some kunai, things like that. When she jumped clear of the smoke she drew that damned sword. I attacked from the left and she swung her katana towards me, i barely had to time jump back she was so quick. She still ended up slicing my shirt. Neji threw a kunai from behind her at she parried it with her katana and i continued my attack but she moved out of the way. We exchanged a few words but that's when her Akatsuki escorts showed up."

"Uchiha Itachi and Hoshigaki Kisame?" Tsunade interrupted.

"Yes. Sakura is easily Jounin level, if not higher, alone but when they showed up they told her to take off. Which she did of course and i sent Sasuke and Naruto after her. Neji and i dealt with Kisame and Itachi for awhile and it seemed like we were getting a little closer to winning when this man showed up with Sakura in his arms."

"Short white hair, long white braid, violet eyes, gold pupils?"

Kakashi nodded.

"Sasuke and Naruto gave me his description, according to them Sakura was hanging on to life by a thread and he took her away."

"They're ok then?" Tsunade nodded and Kakashi continued. "When he showed up he ordered the Akatsuki to leave. They didn't move so he passed Sakura to Itachi and told them to go ahead and that he would catch up. Itachi asked his name and he just said about Darkness which got them moving. He turned to us and said something about introducing us to the end. I asked him to just hand Sakura over and he said this: There are greater things in store for her than being a Konoha dog, she's too important to us to just feed her to the sharks. The next thing i know im waking up here."

Tsunade absorbed the information calmly. The way it sounded was that Itachi, Kisame, and this mystery man were protecting Sakura more than necessary, or normal. Kakashi was right, something was not quite right here. Itachi killed his entire clan, attempted to kill his brother, tries to kill Naruto, kills countless other, and it doesn't even faze him, yet he protects and shelters Sakura at the cost of his own life? It didn't add up, even if he had feelings for her, which was highly unlikely in Tsunade's book, he was the kind of person to just allow them to die anyways. The way he saw it if they weren't strong enough to survive they weren't worth the time.

"You're right something just doesn't add up. This mystery man, Darkness, are you thinking her sword or a freak coincidence?"

Kakashi shook his head. "I don't know. What i do know is this: Sakura is in trouble and she doesn't even realize it."

* * *

**E/N: well there ya go everyone you're one more chapter closer to the end. How does it feel? Well it feels good to have another chapter out. Ya know i average about 3,000 words per chapter... not including authors note, review responses or ending notes... heh oh well some chapters will be longer but i promise not to make them shorter... **

**So want a happy ending to this story or no?**

**Review!**


	5. Decisions, Decisions

_**(points to self) doesn't own Naruto... sorry**_

**A/N: Sorry everyone... just got out of the hospital after a nasty car accident... turned the truck to mush, then again going into a ditch, hitting a culvert, going airborne 3-4 feet and proceeding the smash into a tree at 60mph will do that to a vehicle... luckily everyone was remotely ok, 1 fractured wrist, a multitude of bumps, bruises and cuts and some VERY painful issues with my neck and shoulders... and THEN after i was all better and ready to update got stupid on me and wouldn't load up on my laptop... grr... **

**Thanky all for your reviews!**

**Ending?**

**Happy: 2 vote(s)**

**Bittersweet: 1 vote(s)**

**Sad: 1 vote(s)**

"speech"

_'thoughts'

* * *

_

Remember You, Remember Me

Chapter 4: Decisions, Decisions

By: trailsofblood666 aka Wizard

* * *

Itachi watched Kisame pace the alley. Ever since he had hunted down the shark-man 2 days ago he had been on edge. The sun was rising on the third day since Sakura's return to consciousness, the day she would get up and move again, the day the storm began. Turning his head he looked at Darkness leaning up against the wall at the entrance to the alley, eyes closed and head bowed like he was deep in though. Itachi was having his own troubles keeping his heart from racing in his chest. 

Stopping his pacing Kisame looked at his comrades and sighed. "Is everything in order?"

"Yes." short and simple, just they way Itachi liked it. Using his shoulders Darkness pushed himself of the wall and turned towards the Akatsuki boys.

"Then all that's left is getting Sakura to agree."

Itachi nodded. "She has to come willingly."

* * *

Sakura untangled herself from the sheets and stood. Her body still ached all over but the blinding pain that shook her body whenever she moved had dissipated. The sun was just beginning its ascension and tender rays of light were streaming through the window, licking warmth warm trails over her exposed skin. Now, she decided, was the perfect time to bathe and since all the boys had already gone off to do their various activities they wouldn't miss her anyway. Yes, a bath sounded positively delicious. 

Quickly grabbing a change of clothes and sliding her dirty fishnet shirt back over her flesh she fled the room. It had been a long time since she had stood on her own so lost balance and hit the wall a couple times on her way to the stairwell. Chuckling to herself she began her decent, she probably looked hopelessly drunk ping-ponging off the walls.

The bath house was warm, steamy and filled with happy chatter. A sudden wave of sadness hit Sakura like a rock. Here in the bath house were a bunch of females with the ability to share their lives with precious friends and loved ones, all she had was two moody, childish, Akatsuki assassins and one overly cocky, blood hungry, katana. It was times like this she missed Konoha the most. She missed the sounds, the smells, and even some of its inhabitants. Pushing away the dangerous thoughts she lowered herself into the heated water.

Several of the women turned to look at her with strange glances. What had they never seen a girl trying to get clean? Uncomfortable with the stares she dunked her head under the water and held herself there scrubbing frantically at her scalp. If she just refused to ever come up again would anyone bother to look for her? Surely Itachi and Kisame would notice her disappearance but they would probably think she was just running again.

For the first year and a half that she traveled with them she often ran away only to be caught by them a few hours later. The first time she was scolded and told never to do that again if she planned on living long, the second she was forced to train for 3 days straight, and the third she was straight out hit. The memory of Itachi's fist connecting with her jaw still sent a tingling sting across her face to this day. He was an abusive man when he wanted to be. Kisame just asked if he could kill her.

Feeling the strain on her lungs from lack of oxygen Sakura shot herself to the surface. She could feel the stares of the others in the room with her piercing her flesh as she took several deep breaths. One woman was even brave enough to swim a few feet towards her to make sure she was alright. For a few minutes the entire room was silent except the occasional water drip from her hair.

"You're a ninja aren't you?" One woman asked, breaking the silence. Sakura just raised an eyebrow and gave her a questioning look. "You were under there for nearly 10 minutes, i don't know any normal people who can do that. What village are you from?"

What was this girl doing, trying to make friendly conversation with an assassin? Then again she didn't know Sakura's standing in the world. Eyeing the girl warily she took in the detail. Medium length black hair, brown eyes, fair complexion, plain face, defiantly not someone who would stand out in a crowd. She decided to humor the girl for now.

"Kirigakure."

The girlknit her brow and gave Sakura a critical look. "Funny i don't remember there being any pink haired kunoichi's in Kiri, and you would think me being from there and all i would remember." _'Oops.' _"I do, however, distinctly remember a pretty pink kunoichi in the Chuunin exams wearing a Konoha protector," _'My bad.'_ "and if i remember correctly she turned up in the bingo book a few years back as a nukenin with a bounty on her head."

Sakura took this as her cue to leave. Jumping from the water she ran, grabbing her clothes as she went. She could feel the presence of 2 others following her and cursed herself for being so stupid. If she had just looked harder she would have seen the signs of being a ninja written all across that girl. She could really be careless sometimes.

Busting out the front door of the inn she ran down the street, struggling with her clothes as she went. A kunai whizzed by her head nicking her ear in the process. She didn't have any weapons on her and after just recovering from her last fight now was not the time to battle anyone. The only option left to her was to run as fast as her feet could take her and hope that they couldn't keep or just gave up.

Skidding around a corner into an alley Sakura jumped onto the rooftops. It would be easier to get away this way but impossible to hide. She hated hiding so for the moment she would just run. She could feel the girl and her companion falling behind but it wasn't far enough to allow her escape. Perhaps it was enough to buy her time though.

Jumping to the right she avoided the kunai that was hurled at her. If she could find one of her allies she would be okay but chances of that were slim. Those boys evaporated into the air when the mood took them. A thick cloud of mist closed in around her when she reached the edge of the village.

Sakura was fucked and she knew it.

* * *

Darkness opened the door and froze mid-stride causing Kisame and run into his back. Where once a little girl laid curled in bed was nothing but empty sheets. Getting irritated Itachi pushed the duo through the door to see what the problem was. Glancing to the left he noticed that her clothes were gone but nothing else. 

"One would think if she was going to run away she would at least have the decency to come and get me. Running around in her current state with no protection is foolish." Darkness crossed his arms over his chest and shook his head, he seriously gave that girl too much credit.

"She didn't run away, all her things are here but her a change of clothing. My guess is she went to bathe." Itachi replied, shaking his head. Kisame plopped himself down of Sakura's futon and made himself comfortable.

"So we wait."

"Can you find her with the link between the two of you?"

Darkness raised his eyes to the Uchiha and shook his head. "There is no link between us when im in this form." he made a motion towards the katana that contained him. "If she had my katana on her then i would be able to find her using that but since its still sitting where i left it she's as good as a ghost to me."

"Well we don't have time to wait around for her. Kisame check the lobby and the west side of the city, Darkness check the bath house and the east side, I'll check the bar and the north. Meet back at the front doors in 15 minutes and if she still isn't found we go south together, she has to be close by."

Nodding at their tasks each went their separate ways. They would find Sakura before the sun was mid journey.

* * *

Itachi sped along the rooftops of the northern portion of the city. Lucky for him it was the shady part of town and there were only twenty million places she could hide. This girl was a pain in the ass, if only she wasnt so damn important to everyone around her he would just leave her for dead. 

_'No you wouldn't.'_

The voice startled Itachi into stopping. It had been a long time since his conscience had made it's last appearance and it was surprising and unnerving to hear that voice coursing through his skull.

_'I would let her die without a moments hesitation, she's nothing.'_

_'No, she's a trusted friend, one of the very few you have in this world. She means more than anyone will understand.'_

Smiling Itachi shook his head clear of all thoughts, this girl had him talking to voices in his head. Maybe he was going insane. All this was doing was making the oncoming task that much harder. He needed to be free of any and all emotions when the time came and his conscience was just being a hindrance. Was there any way to kill a conscience? Perhaps he would look in to that.

Continuing his route he judged the time, 5 minutes to go an he hadn't even covered half the places she could be hiding. Getting frustrated he sped up along the roofs and opened his senses wider to his surroundings. He could feel hundreds of people in the area but none were his target.

It was a strange thing, one moment Itachi was just merrily scouting the city and the next he was overcome in a thick haze of mist. He knew this attack, Kisame had used it many times before on their missions. Kirigakure no Jutsu provided perfect cover for assassins and confused it's target, add in a genjutsu to keep the target going in circles and you have the perfect attack. It wasn't so great now that the technique was being used against him though.

Hiding his presence Itachi scanned the mist for signs of life, he nearly jumped out of his skull when somebody landed beside him. Kisame just chuckled and pushed Itachi sideways.

"Jumpy today?" Itachi's eye twitched in annoyance. "You can see this cloud clear across the city. Looks like the kid attracts trouble wherever she goes, this is really getting tedious."

Nodding his agreement Hitachi carefully slid through the mist. Sakura may be a pain in the ass, a bitch, and sometimes downright annoying, but she was a friend and right now she needed their help and nothing like a little bit of water hanging in the air was going to stop them from getting to her. So, being the men they were, they went to the aid of the little girl with very few hesitations.

In moments the two assassins stood behind Sakura's attackers. Itachi was the first to strike; quick, silent and deadly, just the way he liked it. His target fell down with a bloody gurgle as their life-liquid drained from the clean slit across their throat. The face of a young girl, maybe 21-22 stared up at him with glazed over honey brown eyes and the Uchiha shook his head. People needed to think before the acted

Kisame took a little longer in his strike, toying with his prey before making the fatal blow. He attacked from various angles, throwing kunai at the girl and just barely missing any vital organs. Her pained screams and groans seemed to hang in the air forever, hurting Kisame's ears and driving him crazy, so he shut her up. Moving behind her the shark man grabbed her head and twisted it around so her eyes were facing towards him. The look of pure horror that would be engraved on her face for all eternity sent shivers of pleasure down his spine, he reveled in that feeling for a moment before letting the girls limp form fall.

With the enemy ninja dead the mist jutsu dissipated leaving a clear view of a half dressed Haruno a few feet away. Darkness stood behind her protectively and it sent a spike of respectful fear to Itachi's stomach. Darkness wasn't truly alive therefore he had no chakra to hide which also meant he wasn't able to be detected. How long the humanoid katana had been standing beside Sakura was a mystery but the girl didn't seem to notice he was there.

Sakura shakily wrapped her arms around herself. For all her talk of wanting to die rather than betraying anyone when actually faced with the real possibility she was terrified. While entrapped in the mist she had come to some realizations, 1.) she didn't want to die 2.) there was always going to be people like the mist girls ready to attack her and 3.) she REALLY didn't want to die.

Hitachi reassuringly wrapped his arms around the dazed girl and Sakura unconsciously sunk into that warm embrace, but it did nothing to ease her mind. So many people had died for her, died so she could live. She didn't want to give up her life but she didn't want others to give up theirs either. There had to be a middle ground somewhere, a place where she could live in peace without being pursued so others could live.

"It will never stop you know? There will always be people after you until the day you die," Itachi's voice was a soothing whisper in her ear. The kind that drew you in and made you want to believe whatever was being said. "but there is a way to stop Konoha from pursuing you. You have to be willing though."

Sakura shifted in his arms and looked up at the mans ever-active Sharingan with a questioning gaze. People, like the girls from mist, would always attack her in hopes of the reward, but she could stop her friends, her former friends, in Konoha from throwing away their lives trying to stop her? How?

As if spoken allowed Itachi answered her question. "We attack Konoha directly."

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**Ending Notes: Ok i know nothing really happened in this chapter but I'm just getting over some serious muscle trauma gimme a break... now from here this story can go one of two ways, one way leads to an ending that can either be sad or bittersweet and the other way leads to either a happy or bittersweet so i need to know which ending you guys want... think of it as a 'choose your own adventure' kind of thing...**

**So... Happy ending, Bittersweet ending, or Sad ending**

**Review!**


	6. Chasing Phantoms

_**Disclaimer: don't own Naruto**_

**A/N thanky for the concern, luckily im ok and off mind-altering pain meds so things so can go along smoothly from now on... aiight well you know the drill...**

**Queen Cow and This is my name**- Sorry about the how 'H' thing in front of Itachi's name my spell checker does that automatically and i guess neither i nor my proof reader caught it! I'll watch out for that from now on

**Midnight-Miko66 - **i thank you very much for the praise, the hug made me feel better too _(smile)_ but im sorry... a bittersweet ending won out... but i promise to at least make it a little happier for you... also i dont plan to kill him, i would cry if i did that... he's to hott to sacrifice!

**Big thanky to all the veteran reviewers... and to all the baby-boppers... big thanky as well!**

**Ending:**

**Happy: 8 vote(s)**

**Bittersweet: 12 vote(s)**

**Sad: 3 vote(s)**

**Bittersweet ending it is... my favorite kind _(insert evil grin)_ ok then**

**Enjoy!

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Remember You, Remember Me

Chapter 5: Chasing Phantoms

By: trailsofblood666 aka Wizard

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As if spoken allowed Itachi answered her question. "We attack Konoha directly."

Sakura froze in Itachi's embrace, muscles tense and ready to retaliate. Sure, it made sense if thought about, attack Konoha and they will be too weak to send out parties after her, but the cost was high. She wanted a way to prevent any of her past classmates from dying though, and an all-out war would only seal that fate. Just because she wanted nothing more to do with them that didn't mean she wished them death.

Opening and closing her mouth several times she tried to find the words to voice her opinion. All that her vocal cords produced were squeaks and croaks as she got lost in the Uchiha's eyes. She couldn't do it; she couldn't bring herself to say no to the man that had just saved her ass for the millionth time but she wouldn't allow herself to say yes either.

"Sakura." The kunoichi turned her head towards the man who called her name. Darknessess eyes spoke of no emotions but his voice was soft and sympathetic, drawing her to him like a moth to a flame. Itachi loosened his grip on the girl as she moved from his arms, slightly irritated at his lose of warmth.

"Sit."

Sakura obeyed the transformed katana and fell to her knees.

"Listen. I understand that you have no wish to hurt your 'friends' but i see no other way. You will continue to be hunted until your last breath is drawn, if we attack Konohagakure at least half of our problem will be solved. Think about it master, they will no longer pursue you and we may possibly be able to withdraw the bounty on your head. You would be free." Sakura snapped her head up.

"They will no longer pursue me because they will be dead! That's not what i want!" Rising to her feet, Sakura stared down the men before her and continued her rant. "There's got to be more to life than all this bloodshed. People die every day without having ever taken the life of another, why can't I?"

"They're not shinobi." Kisame pointed out.

"Then I don't want to be a shinobi anymore, someone else can have that title! I wont kill them, I CAN'T!" By now tears were free-flowing down Sakura's face, the young girl was at ends with what she should do. She had never directly disobeyed Itachi and Kisame's orders but she didn't think she had the strength in herself to attack her home, the place she was born and brought up.

Itachi stepped towards the frazzled girl and closed his arms tight around her shaking form. She tried to push away from his chest but he held her firmly to him, refusing to let her go. Something about seeing the woman cry made him uneasy, he wanted that feeling to go away so the only logical thing to do was make her stop crying. Right? Resting his chin on top of her pale pink head he allowed her to cry into him, waiting for her tears to stop before he spoke.

"I need you to fight with us Sakura. You say you want to live your life in peace well this is your chance to obtain it. One last fight. A battle to end a war." Itachi pulled the Sakura back slightly to look into her eyes, "To end _your_ war. Are you with me kid?"

Sakura watched him for a moment before turning her head away and looking towards the ground. Her reply was so soft it was barely caught by the others standing to the sides, but no one missed the lone tear that fell to the dirt.

"Im always with you.

* * *

Kakashi ran a hand through his silver hair. He'd been looking at the Rookie Nine's files for two days straight and Tsunade had been right, there was nothing out of the ordinary about Sakura's file. Something was wrong though and he knew it, his instincts told him so. For 30 odd years he had trusted those instincts and they had yet to fail him, but his suspicions were proving unfounded the deeper he dove into the past.

Perhaps he was just getting too old.

Waving away that thought he looked back at the files in front of him. Papers lay scattered all across the large table normally used for ANBU meetings, all of them belonging to Sakura's file. He had been searching desperately for something, anything, that gave even the slightest hint of what was coming. He was searching through medical reports, mission reports, and even personal information of the remaining Rookie Nine and Gai's team for something that matched with anything on Sakura's file. Perhaps one of the others had run into someone on a mission who had made some off-hand comment that didn't seem important at the time? Maybe someone had seen something that didn't merit recognition because it wasn't related to their mission?

Shinobi were expected to write out mission reports in detail about everything they saw and heard no matter the importance of it to the mission. If some strange bartender made a comment about how great his wife was in bed or saw some blacksmith poking a chicken, they were required to report it. No matter how trivial something may seem at the time it may have greater meaning to another mission later on, which is why shinobi were taught to remember every minuscule detail and relay it all in full in their mission reports.

It would take decades to search through all the mission reports from all the shinobi in the last 4 years and it wasnt something Kakashi wanted to do, or looked forward to doing. He figured he would start with the Rookie Nine and if they didn't turn up any results he would re-think his strategy. He defiantly wasnt going to waste his life away sifting through papers, that was a Chuunin's job. Maybe he should get a Chuunin to do this? No that would be too lazy, even for his standards.

"How's the hunt going Kakashi-sensei?" At the sound of Naruto's voice Kakashi allowed his head to fall dramatically onto the table with a 'thunk'. He didn't need any visitors right now, especially one like Naruto.

"I told you not to call me that. You're a Jounin ANBU you have no need to call me sensei."

"Sorry, sorry, old habits die hard." Plopping down in a chair opposite of Kakashi he looked at the strewn papers with amusement. It looked like a tornado had run over the piece of furniture and deposited papers randomly. Picking up the slip nearest him he read the contents. It was a mission report, or rather the preliminary investigation dated 8 months ago of a slaughtered ANBU team, courtesy of Haruno Sakura. He remembered this attempt at trying to recover Sakura, he remembered them all, but he had lost a friend of his in this attempt. Yet he couldn't be angry at her, even after Hinata was sent to the hospital because of her he couldn't be angry at her, that in itself pissed him off.

Putting the paper back exactly where he found it so not to confuse Kakashi he leaned back in his chair. The silver haired Jounin was quietly smacking his forehead against the table. He couldn't help but feel a little bad for the man, he had been couped up here for days chasing phantoms that may or may not even exist.

"Go get some rest Kakashi, I'll sift through some of this for awhile."

Said man raised his head to his former student and smiled. A few years ago Naruto wouldn't have had the patience to sit in a chair for hours let alone do so while reading boring mission reports. He had grown though, they all had, when Sakura had left. Her departure had hit the village in a way she would not ever begin to understand. Without her smiles and laughter to keep spirits up, even in the roughest of times, they had to grow and learn to deal with things the hard way: acceptance.

"I couldn't let you do that Naruto, you have other, more important, things to deal with at the moment than this. You're an important part of this village and we can't afford to have you holed up in here reading documents that are pretty much proving worthless."

Naruto let his blue crystalline eyes meet Kakashi's for a moment before scanning over the paper mess again. He was important to the village, he had realized that years ago, and he was a strong asset but they could spare him if it meant bringing Sakura home. She was one of the most significant people in his life and he refused to believe that she was beyond their reach in helping. Casting his back to Kakashi he leaned forward and sighed.

"Ya know, when Kisame came and snatched Hinata it was the most terrifying thing i had ever experienced. I couldn't do anything to save her, i was helpless and it hurt. Do you think that maybe Sakura is the same way? I mean that she has no other option than following them."

Kakashi shrugged. "I honestly don't know, but i somehow doubt it. She's strong Naruto, you fought her and it's visible in her eyes. If she wanted to get away from them i think she probably could. There are a lot of things we don't know about the situation and without Sakura telling us we will never know. I know it may be hard but we have to assume that truly is the monster nukenin she's made out to be. Anyways, speaking of Hinata, how is she doing?"

"Tsunade-san is working on her. She says that whoever put her there manually shut down a great portion of bodily functions. They put her into a coma-like state by over-riding her brains response signals making it impossible for her to awaken even though she wants to. Tsunade-san says she can get her back to normal in a few days if everything goes right. She wont know if there are any other problems until she gets her brain back to normal."

Kakashi nodded in understanding and looked back down to the files. Naruto was here because he had nothing better to do so why not let him take over for awhile? Snapping his head back to the blond Kakashi's eyes narrowed.

"When Kisame took Hinata, did he say anything of importance to you? Did he say anything period?"

Naruto raised an eyebrow in question at the older male, thinking that finally Kakashi had gone over the top. "Just told me not to scream, said he had plans for her, needed her to help out a friend of his. Told me the world doesn't revolve around me, made some smart-ass comment about loving to stay and catch up, said he wouldn't hurt her too much if she cooperates and took off."

Kakashi's eyebrows knit together for a moment before he let his head fall heavily on the desk again, he was getting absolutely nowhere. All he needed was one small scrap of information to go on, just enough to let him know that his feeling was not wrong. Giving up he stood up from the table and spread his arms out to other side and smiled down at the young ANBU.

"It's all yours, enjoy." With that Kakashi 'poofed' away leaving the blond to his devices. Shaking his head Naruto took up where Kakashi left off.

* * *

Sakura walked in silence with the three men as they made their way east, back the way they had came. She didn't understand what was going on, she had agreed to attack Konoha with them but she didn't think they meant right now, right this moment. She needed at least, oh lets say, 6 years to prepare? She needed to gather her courage to it's maximum before trying something so bold.

Swallowing hard she turned to Itachi. "Where exactly are we going?" Without even turning to acknowledge her he answered.

"Konoha." Freezing in her tracks she stared wide-eyed at the man. No, not now, she couldn't now. Itachi turned towards the frozen kunoichi and sighed.

"Do you trust us Sakura?" She nodded. "No matter what happens now, remember that."

White bloomed across Sakura's vision before it faded to black.

* * *

_'One.' _Clink. _'Two.' _Clink. _'Three, four, five.'_ Clink, clink-clink. _'Six.'_ Clink. _'Seven, eight." _Cli-clink. _'Nine.' _Clink. _'Ten.'_ Whoosh.

"Damnit!"

Sasuke thrust his katana into the ground and opened his eyes. He missed, how in the name of the seven hells had he missed? He had been going through his sets, using metal poles to let him know he was performing them correctly. All his previous movements had been perfect, flawless, but he couldn't ever manage to go through this set without screwing it up at least once. Being the perfectionist he was, that was unacceptable.

He had seen Sakura go through parts of it fluidly, like it was nothing, and here he couldn't even get past the first 10 movements without fucking it up! How was it that she was able to do it and he wasn't? He refused to believe that she was actually more skilled at anything than him, that was completely crazy. Little Sakura actually excel in something he couldn't given the time to train? The thought was almost laughable.

A buzzing in the back of his mind told him not to think such things but he just pushed that little pest back into his cobweb covered crate. He knew she was strong but he would bet his life that if you took away that demonic sword she carried with her he would prevail in any battle they should engage in. Ok, he needed to cool down, he knew he was getting too cocky in his anger but, damnit, that woman pissed him off beyond belief.

First she tries to stop him from running to Orochimaru, then, when he finally does come back, she smiles and says nothing to him for weeks. She avoided him, ignored him, and refused to look at him when he cornered her. THEN she runs away and teams up with his brother, the one person he hates most in this world, and has the audacity to tell him he knows nothing about his brother and attack him! Who did she think she was!

Still, somewhere inside of him, he wanted to ask her a million questions. Why ignore him? What happened? Why leave? Why, for the love of Kami, Itachi? He knew that these questions would forever go unanswered by the pink haired kunoichi but he couldn't help but think them. They had plagued his mind since she left and just kept piling up on top of one another with every new piece of information he gathered about her. Half the pieces of the puzzle were missing and it irritated him.

Yanking his katana from the ground Sasuke sheathed it across his back and walked away from the training area. Thoughts still absorbed in a certain someone he walked through the busy streets of Konohagakure. Random people called out greetings to him and he acknowledged them with a slight inclination of his head. He wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone today, not that any of them would provide a conversation with any substance anyway.

Putting himself on auto-pilot he made his way to the deserted part of town that contained the Uchiha mansion. Passing the Hokage's tower he paused for a second, something was off. This place was normally full of shinobi and other life at all hours and now it was completely barren of activity. Was there a battle somewhere that he was missing? Maybe an emergency meeting that was called and he didn't recieve the call?

Slipping into the building he was met with the same sight, nothing. Drawing his katana he stealthily slid his way up the winding stairs to the Hokage's office. Maybe Tsunade-sama had thrown another hissy-fit causing everyone to flee and it was nothing to worry about, or maybe not. Either way he was going to be careful until he figured it out. Pausing in front of the door he hid his presence and listened, he could hear faint talking on the other side of the door but words couldn't be made out. He could hear the distinguishable tones of Tsunade-sama, which solved the problem of her whereabouts but left one question: Is she safe?

The smooth tones of another person reached his ears next and he held his breath, hoping to either catch anything a snippet of conversation or a gender. He didn't know if knocking on the door was a good idea if she was truly in trouble, but if she wasn't barging in would just get something whipped at his head or other, more sensitive, body parts. Just the thought made him shudder. Gathering the courage needed he threw the door open and held his katana low to the side.

What he saw there made his blood run cold.

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**Ending Notes: I'm going to leave it there for the time being... so you here ya go chapter 5 of RYRM, which i might rename when this is over idk... well as tigger says "TTFN Ta Ta For Now"**

**Review!**


	7. Reactions and Realizations

_**Disclaimer: if i owned Naruto Itachi would have a much bigger role in life... unfortunately i don't own Naruto**_

**A/N: you have my deepest apologies that i haven't updated in an usually long time (seeing as i usually update once or twice a week) but shit has been hitting the fan around my humble abode and i had to set this story aside for a little while to take care of it... things have calmed down now and i should be able to update more regularly again _(grin)_ well you know how this works...**

**Katearah** - i think that your review is truly the best review i have ever read... i started work on this chapter right after reading it, deciding that it was well over time that i kept people like you waiting to see what happens next... this chapter is for you

**thanky thanky to everyone else who reviewed!**

"speech"

_'thoughts'

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_

_**Last Time on RYRM:**_

_The smooth tones of another person reached his ears next and Sasuke held his breath, hoping to either catch anything a snippet of conversation or a gender. He didn't know if knocking on the door was a good idea if she was truly in trouble, but if she wasn't barging in would just get something whipped at his head or other, more sensitive, body parts. Just the thought made him shudder. Gathering the courage needed he threw the door open and held his katana low to the side._

_What he saw there made his blood run cold.

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_

Remember You Remember Me

Chapter 6: Reactions and Realizations

By: trailsofblood666 aka Wizard

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Sasuke felt his blood freeze in his veins as the Hokage and her 'visitor' turned their heads towards him. The visitors eyes locked with his own and the air around him seemed thicken, warm, and press down on him heavily trying to bring him to his knees. Putting a hand on the door frame to steady himself, Sasuke fought down a wave of vertigo and let his eyes slid shut. After a few moments the feeling passed and his eyes slid open again just as the man was turning back to Tsunade. 

The scene made Sasuke nervous even though Tsunade seemed to be relaxed and not threatened. Standing not ten feet away was the man who had mysteriously appeared and whisked the unconscious Sakura away from Konoha, and here he was again with a crumpled Sakura at his feet in the Hokage's office. Something was so off with this picture you just had to take a step back and admire the idiocy of it all. He stole her away just to return her again? Sasuke snapped his attention to the matter at hand when the guy began to speak.

"As i was saying, it is my place to ensure Sakura-sama's safety, to protect her life. When she gets into a potentially dangerous situation it is my job to bail her out. At the time of her capture and interrogation here in Konoha you were the danger, that danger has now taken the forms of Itachi, Kisame, and the rest of the Akatsuki. I may be mistaken, but this seemed like the best place to bring her to insure that safety that i am bound to protect."

Tsunade shifted her eyes to Sasuke and made a motion for him to step inside and close the door. He was so completely lost it hurt his brain. So this guy was Sakura's protector? Itachi and Kisame did something to her that threatened her life? Sasuke had to mentally smirk at that one. _'Surprise, surprise.' _Now he was bring her back to the place he had just rescued her from in order to protect her. _'Raise your hand if this all sounds a little fishy to you.'_

"How do i know that this isn't some elaborate plan of the Akatsuki? How am I to know that you aren't exactly what you're saying you're protecting her from?" Tsunade spoke, resting her chin on her hands. Darkness smirked.

"You can check my body for any markings if you wish, you can pry into my consciousness, you can do whatever you want with me but in the end i am just a sword. How can an inanimate object work for an underground organization?"

"You look human to me. If you're just a sword how is it that you are so human looking?"

"A long story Hokage-sama."

Tsunade leaned back in her chair. "I have time. Sasuke have a seat, nothing that is being said here leaves this room am i understood?"

Nodding his affirmative Sasuke pulled a chair just off to the left side of the door and sat as it's guard. Relaxed but alert, he watched the human/sword from his post, waiting to here the explanation for this one.

Darkness sighed and sat himself down in one of the chairs in front of the Hokage's desk but turned it so he could keep an eye on Sasuke. "If you insist Hokage-sama. It was a long time again, 100 years, perhaps more, that it all began. That sword that you see strapped to Sakura-sama belonged to me at that time. I was just a child, no older than 13, when i had that katana made. Magnificent sword, perfectly crafted to just the right shade so that it wouldn't refract light, and reinforced with chakra so it would never dull. At the time it was the perfect weapon and served me well throughout my travels as a villageless ninja. It took thousands of lives but saved many more.

"Eventually the life of a traveler grew tedious and i wanted nothing more than to find a place to permanently rest my weary body. It took nearly a year but i found it, a peaceful village nestled in a narrow green valley. Beautiful beyond words; the people, the houses, the location, everything about it seemed as if it was made just for me. At 18 I became the sole protector of the village and it's inhabitants. I fell in love and all that great junk but it was rather short lived.

"Just after my 20th birthday disaster struck in the form of a band of ninja. They were villageless, like myself, and seeking a place to start their own hidden village. Unfortunately for us they had no use for non-ninja humans and the killing began. I tried to stop them, and i alone killed half of their number, but in the end it was a done deal. The village died and the remaining ninja fled after losing so many of their kin, deciding that even though only a handful were left alive it wasn't worth it any longer. As the woman i was set to marry died in my arms i made a promise to myself, and that promise was this: For all eternity i will never allow another in my care to die at the hands of men, whether they deserved it or not.

"To seal my promise of eternity i walked out into the blood covered streets of the my one true dream and imbedded my katana into my chest. I poured myself into that sword. First my memories so i would remember why i did this, then my chakra so i would have the strength to fight, then a small piece of my soul to tie it all together and finally sealed it off with what little chakra i had remaining. What you see sitting before you now is he product of all that work.

"The first person to pick me up after my sealing became my first ward and i protected him until he died of old age. Eventually i was stored away and forgotten in some rich mans treasury and remained there well past his death, then Sakura-sama came along. What exactly she was doing in some lords treasure room i have no idea considering her job was to kill the owner and get out as quick as possible but as soon as she picked me up she became my ward since my old one had died. At first she was a little freaked out and skeptical but eventually she got use to always having me inside her head and welcomed my presence. I have bailed her out of countless situations over the last few years and i have a feeling that i will have to continue doing so for a very long time. She's a sweet girl but seems to attract trouble where ever she goes.

"So, you see, i was once a human and this is what i looked like. This form is nothing more than an jutsu where i dispelled everything from the katana except the a bit of chakra and the piece of my soul i detached. All this form is, is condensed chakra and memories used for the convenience of saving Sakura-sama's life. As soon as my chakra regenerates enough i can return to my holding place once again. So now i ask you, do you truly believe that i could be working for the Akatsuki?"

The room was deathly quiet for a few moments as Tsunade and Sasuke let the story sink in and went over it mentally. It was quite a story, man gave his life to protect those around him, something straight out of a super-hero comic. In the end it was Sasuke who spoke first.

"That was an interesting story and all but it still doesn't give us a reason to trust you. Sakura was part of the Akatsuki, once you're one of them there is no turning back, this could just be part of a plan. Pretend Sakura is in danger and carry her off back to Konoha where she had her trusty sword infiltrate from the inside while the other members sit back and wait for the perfect time to attack."

Darkness studied the young Uchiha. He was smart, but stupid at the same time. Wouldn't sending Sakura in to the lions den be putting her life in danger, something that he was bound by oath to prevent? If she was found out she would be dead before he could do anything to stop it so why take that risk in the first place. Running a hand over his face he mentally banged his head against the wall. Could swords get headaches, because he sure as hell felt a major one coming on.

"That would completely destroy my role wouldn't it? I won't, and can't, put Sakura-sama's life in danger like that. I don't know what all happened her to make her leave in the first place but i do know that once she wakes up she is going to bit my head off for bringing her here. I can't give you any proof that she no longer works for the Akatsuki except the simple fact that she is here when i know that she would rather be anywhere else in the world. In the end it boils down to the simple and over-used phrase: 'You're just going to have to trust me.'"

"Why shou--" Sasuke began, but was rudely interrupted by Tsunade.

"Sasuke that's enough." The Hokage had her eyes trained on Darkness even as she spoke to Sasuke but it was obvious that she had already made up her mind. "We've been looking for a way to get Sakura back since she left and this is the opportunity. From here on out Sakura is under my protection, if anyone has anything to say about it they can come straight to me with their complaints. Sasuke i want you to go spread the word of her return and that if anyone messes with her, even looks at her wrong, they will have to come deal with me."

Sasuke really didn't like the tone of voice she used when making the threats. It was tone that promised a lifetime of pain and suffering for those who disobeyed her. Even though the warning was clear enough Sasuke just couldn't keep his mouth shut, he just _had_ to put in his 2 cents worth.

"Hokage-sama, i don't think this is wise. Not only did he stop us from keeping Sakura in our custody before but he attacked Kakashi and Neji."

"Had i left the Hyuuga and the Copy Nin to their own devices would they have allowed us to take Sakura-sama away without incident? I didn't think so. If i had wanted to kill them it would have been very easy but instead i used a genjutsu to put them into a temporary coma, once they collapsed it would have been easy as killing an infant. Also, i left you and the Kyuubi vessel unharmed during our confrontation."

Tsunade smirked. "I think that answers that, now Sasuke please go inform the others. You can be certain that precautions will be taken, but the rest of the arrangements will be left to me, now go."

Nodding Sasuke stood and exited the room, leaving the two to discuss whatever it is people like that discussed. He had a feeling that people were going to be about as receptive of this news as he was. It wasn't that they didn't love Sakura and miss her dearly but they just didn't trust her anymore. She had broke their trust time after time, he didn't think anyone had it left in themselves to trust her again.

Through it all team 7 had been hit the hardest. First with Sasuke abandoning them, then with Naruto going away to train for an extended period of time and finally with Sakura bailing out on them so suddenly. He knew how much it all saddened and angered him, he could only guess what Kakashi had gone through with it all. It didn't only effect team 7 though, it was hard on all the Rookie Nine. They all cared about each other in their own strange, twisted, ways. Now who to tell first?

Sasuke figured his best bet would be with the other two members of team 7. They were the closest Sakura had to a real family and it was their right as her former teammates to know first. Without thinking he steered himself towards the home of his friend and former sensei, Hatake Kakashi.

How would Kakashi react to having Sakura back in Konoha? The Copy Nin was a realist, he would see things for how they really were, he would see 'beneath the underneath'. If something was wrong with the situation Kakashi would be the first to see it and point it out. He would also be the first to get his ass kicked by Tsunade, Sasuke mentally smirked at the image of his older friend twitching on the ground while an irate Tsunade stood over him with a sake bottle in her hand.

Sasuke paused at the door of Kakashi's apartment and knocked, it was late but he knew the man would be up. In fact he had never once known the man to sleep, either that or he was just paranoid and slept with all his ninja gear still on. Either way he was a strange man, maybe he would ask about that one day but right now he had other things to deal with.

The door swung open to reveal Kakashi in full ninja garb just like Sasuke had known he would be. Without a word Sasuke slipped in under Kakashi's arm and made his way into the bachelors living room and plopped himself down on the couch. Kakashi stood by the door and watched the boy with his visible eyebrow raised and head cocked to the side. Sasuke motioned for him to have a seat and the man obeyed silently but never wiped the questioning look from his face.

"Not that i mind your company but what brings you here at such a late hour Sasuke?"

For a moment Sasuke didn't answer, choosing to study the man. He had never seen Kakashi lose his temper before and he was silently praying that he didn't witness such an event tonight. "A message from the Hokage."

Kakashi waited for a moment but when the teen didn't say any more he pushed him a little. "And? What is the message that couldn't wait until morning?"

Sasuke ran a hand over his face and leaned forward on the couch. It was a little unprofessional but this was Kakashi he was dealing with not some feudal lord. "As of tonight Sakura has officially been reinstated as a member of this village under the order and protection of Tsunade-sama. If you have any comments, concerns, or complaints you are to take it up with her personally. She is to be treated with the same respect as all other ninja of this village, anyone acting otherwise will face the consequences."

"What are the consequences, just out of curiosity?" Kakashi asked, eyes never leaving the young Uchiha.

"She didn't say but her tone promised a very drawn-out and painful death."

The room was deathly silent for a long time. Not even the sounds of the city beyond the walls reached the two men as they sat. Their eyes were still locked but neither was really seeing what was in front of them, each were off inside their heads going over the information and digesting it. Sasuke snapped out of it long before Kakashi did and he sat and watched the emotions flicker through his eyes. Anger, happiness, sadness, hope, they were all there but never stayed for more than a moment of two before fleeing again. In the end the unreadable look entered back into the Copy Nin's eyes and he spoke again.

"What happened?" Sasuke shook his head and Kakashi nodded his understanding. "Who else knows?"

"You, Tsunade, Sakura's 'protector' and myself. Not even Sakura knows yet." At Kakashi's confused and questioning look Sasuke chuckled softly and continued. "She was unconscious during the exchange, but her 'protector' seems to think seems to think she will put up that much of a fuss."

Kakashi let his eye slid closed and was silent for awhile again. Sasuke know there were a lot of 'what if's' and other variables in this situation so he let the man have his time to go over it in his head and think about whatever it was that man thought about. He expected a lot of reactions from Kakashi but what he got was what he least expected. Kakashi locked his eyes to Sasuke's and smiled, SMILED!

"It will be good to have her back again. Im sure you plan on telling Naruto yet tonight so don't let me keep you longer than i already have. I thank you for coming to me with the news first. The four of us will have to get together once things settle down and catch up. It will be interesting to see what Sakura has been up to these last few years."

Sasuke knew he had been dismissed so he stood and bowed respectively to his former sensei. With a quick good-bye the Uchiha boy started off towards his teammate and best friends house. He hand an idea of how Naruto would take the news. First would be the excitement, then the anger, then more excitement and the night would end with both of them beating on each other until neither could stand. Actually that was how most of their encounters went. The blond had grown exceptionally since their academy days and was mature, calm and collected when the situation called for it, but if he didn't need to be Naruto would rather be, well, Naruto. The loud-mouthed, hyperactive, boastful brat was still around, he just slept while Naruto worked and came out to play once he was officially off-duty for the day.

It was even worse after the blond ANBU came back after being on an extended mission. It was like he had to make up for lost time and went into super-annoying mode for a day or two. Those are the times that Sasuke requested missions away from Konoha, it was always better to be away during those times than get caught up in the boys' fun and get in trouble with him. Tonight he would make sure there was no trouble, but he had a feeling that an emotional roller-coaster ride was in store for him.

Sasuke stood in front of his teammates door for a long time. He knew he would have to knock eventually but he wanted to have a plan of attack first. He knew the same tactic he had used with Kakashi wouldn't work with Naruto. He would get a punch in the face if he drew it out and acted so formal with the blond but he didn't think 'hey Sakura is back and part of Konoha don't like it tough' would work with the boy either. Before he could come up with anything useful the door in front of him swung open to reveal a half dressed, but fully alert, Naruto.

"Were you just planning on standing at my door all night bastard, or were you planning to knock sometime in this lifetime?" Sasuke watched the amused smirk make it's way up the blonds lips. He tried to offer his own smile to his friend but it must have been plain on his face that something was wrong because Naruto dropped the smirk and sobered up real quick.

"Come in." With the widening of the door Sasuke spun around Naruto and stood in the entryway. Naruto motioned for him to follow and the Uchiha did so silently. "Can i get you something to drink? Some ramen? Anything?"

Sasuke shook his head and sat down on the couch, just as he had done with Kakashi. "No."

Sitting himself on the coffee table in front of Sasuke, Naruto watched his friend look around nervously, like he was afraid of something which was just ludicrous since it was Sasuke. Whatever was wrong it was starting to freak him out. "What's up Sasuke?"

The red-eyed boy shifted his eyes away from Naruto and stared at the picture's on the wall. "How's Hinata?"

Naruto's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Fine. Tsunade says she just needs to rest a few days before she's ready to come home. That's not what you came here to talk about though so spill it. What's got you so on edge?" Naruto folded his legs underneath him to sit cross legged and leaned his body to the side to catch the other mans gaze but failed. Following Sasuke's gaze he looked at the picture the ANBU was staring at the things clicked.

"Is she back or is she dead?" Sasuke whipped around to face the blond, and Naruto laughed. "I can put two and two together. So what's the deal?"

"I have a message from the Hokage to deliver to you and various others. As of tonight--" Naruto whapped Sasuke upside the head as he spoke. It didn't hurt but it was surprising.

"Enough with the formalities bastard, is Sakura back or dead?"

"She's back."

Naruto's muscles contracted and loosened as he clenched his fists. A lost smile tugged at his lips as he cast his eyes downward. He stayed like that for a moment before chuckling.

"I don't know if i should be angry or jumping up and down."

"Nor do I. All i know is that it's something that we're going to have to take a day at a time."

"Is this the end? I mean is she here for good, or is this just some strange scheme of hers?"

"Only time will tell my friend. My advice is this: don't get too attached. One moment she could be our best friend and the next we have that nasty katana decorating our bellies. I don't trust her, and you would be wise to follow that piece of advice."

Naruto nodded. "Thanks for coming, but i think i wanna catch a few hours of sleep. We'll talk more in the morning alright?" The blond stood up and held out his hand to his raven-haired counter-part. Sasuke accepted it without hesitation and Naruto hauled him to his feet. Giving the Uchiha a slight smack on the arm he walked away and left Sasuke to find his own way out.

After exiting Sasuke looked up to the pre-dawn sky. It was just beginning to get light out and he was just not realizing how late it actually was. He needed sleep before he dealt with anyone else. He figured he could gather all the others together and tell them all at once, it would save on a lot of time but he didn't want to wake any of the others up. After a few a few hours of sleep he would mount that obstacle.

Perhaps in the light the whole thing will look a little brighter...

* * *

Sakura rolled over in bed to avoid the sunlight filtering through the room and smacked her head against the wall. Groaning in pain and irritation she rolled over the other way, tangled herself in the blanket and proceeded to roll right off the other side of the bed. Her body connected hard with the floor and it was at this point that she realized it was not going to be a good day. She knew she should just crawl back into bed and hide but there were some questions that needed answering first, like how the hell did she end up in a bed. 

"You sure make a lot of noise in the morning." Darkness smirked at the girl from the doorway to the room. Sakura just grunted her annoyance and straightened herself out. A sarcastic sword-man was the last thing she needed right at this very moment. If she had a projectile within reach it would be firmly implanted in the mans skull right now. Seeing as she didn't she settled for just glaring holes in his forehead.

"You're funny sweetie, really. Now where am I and how did i get here?"

"Time for that later, for now how about you go get clean and we go get something to eat?" Darkness stepped forward and offered the tousled girl a hand up and pushed her towards the bathroom.

After showering and dressing herself in a clean version of her normal outfit she was bustled out the door of what Sakura guessed was a hotel room. They went down the stairs and into the dining area and ordered. After they were alone the questions started.

"Where are Itachi and Kisame?"

"Gone. I don't know where."

"Why?"

"They attacked you."

That was not the answer Sakura was expecting but it would explain the missing hours in her head. "Why?"

"I'm not entirely sure Sakura-sama. We will discuss that later."

"Where are we?"

Darkness slid to the edge of the booth they were sharing and looked as if he was about ready to split, Sakura narrowed her eyes in suspicion.

"Before you kill me you have to allow me to explain." Sakura tensed, why would she kill him? "Promise me you will let me explain before you mutilate me."

"Darkness..."

"Promise me."

"Fine I promise, now where are we."

"...Konohagakure."

Chaos ensued. The duo left one torn apart table, one broken window, five shattered plates, eight dented walls, twenty-three broken tree limbs, and countless frightened people in their path of destruction that ended up with both of them submerged in a river and very grouchy afterwards. Finally getting a few good smacks in Sakura let her weight fall to the river bank and allowed the drying process to begin. She stared at the glossy surface of the river and let her thoughts and memories carry her away.

Darkness was more than happy to just let her be for the time being. He knew she would react badly, she was scared of Konoha. She had dug herself into a hole that she could never get out of and he felt somewhat sorry for her. If she had just gone to the Hokage the night she was attacked instead of fleeing the village everything would be ok now. She didn't and that was her first mistake. Then she could have gone back instead of going with Itachi, but she didn't and that was he second mistake. If she hadn't killed all those ANBU sent to find her and bring her home she would have been able to come back also.

If, if, if. There seemed to be a lot of those going around as of late and all they did was put Darkness on edge. He didn't like uncertainty and that was all that seemed to surround his pink haired ward. That and trouble, he wouldn't be the least bit surprised if he looked up and found them surrounded by ninja ready to kill them for causing a disturbance. Though, word traveled fast in the ninja world so he had a feeling that most people already knew of their presence despite the early hour and would steer clear of them.

"We can't stay here."

Sakura's soft voice brought Darkness out of his 'mind' and back into reality. He turned to look at the girl and flinched. He had seen the kunoichi sad before but in all his time with her he had never seen her cry. The sight of her broke his heart, figuratively speaking of course. Tears rolled out from distant emerald eyes that looked but didn't see. Lines of anguish sketched across her face making her look years older than 19. She was in pain and there was nothing he could do to ease it.

"For now, we stay. We have nowhere else to go."

"Let me rephrase. _I_ can't stay here. Don't you understand? I betrayed these people, it will only be a matter of time before someone decides to take matters into their own hands. Staying here only ups my chances of being killed."

"Hokage-sama took care of that. Anyone with complaints takes it up with her directly, anyone even thinks about hurting you and their ass is grass. You're safe here, i promise you."

Even with Darkness' reassurance she still looked like a lost and abused puppy. "What happened with Itachi and Kisame?"

"What do you remember?"

Sakura thought for a minute about the moments leading up to unconsciousness. "Itachi, he... asked me if i trusted him. He told me to always remember that. I don't understand."

Darkness sighed, this was going to hurt. "He rendered you unconscious. I caught you as you fell and asked him what he was doing, Kisame replied that your usefulness had come to an end, that if you were unwilling to kill your friends then they had no need for you. He said that you knew too much to live therefore you were to die. Itachi advanced and I took off with you. I didn't know where else to bring you that you would be safe from them other than Konohagakure."

Sakura looked at Darkness, eyes wide with disbelief and confustion. She scooted back several feet from the human-sword shaking her head all the while as if trying to shake loose the information. "N-no... he wouldn't... we were going to... why would... why? Why?"

"I don't have all the answers for that Sakura-sama. Perhaps in time we will, but not today. Let's go back to the inn."

Sakura shook her head. "You go, I'll catch up with you."

Darkness studied her for a time before nodding and disappearing, leaving the pink-hair kunoichi alone. Her feelings were all jumbled together in a knot and at the moment she just wanted to be alone to sort them out.

First things first, the situation with Itachi and Kisame. Their betrayal cut deep and hurt more than she could have ever imagined, but was she really all that surprised? She knew her position in the Akatsuki was always a shaky one, but she loved shark-man and weasel-boy and thought they were friends. Obviously they were enemies first and foremost, no matter how much time they spent together watching each others backs. It wasn't all that radical of an idea that they would betray her the way they did, it was a kill-or-be-killed world and most valued their life above the lives of others. All in all she was just angry and confused with the dangerous duo, it's always easier to trust and enemy than a friend.

Second, her feelings for Itachi. No, she would work that one out later when she had more time to think. There were more important things right now.

Third, Konohagakure. She was scared, that was a given, she had betrayed these people time and time again, she didn't expect them to welcome her with open arms. She wouldn't lie to herself, there was something comforting about being back in Konoha after so long, this was, after all, her hometown. It had it's pro's and con's just like everything else, there were things, and people, she truly missed, but the real question was; was it a good idea to be here? One of the things she realized was that it wasn't the fear being hurt again that kept her from this village, it was the fear of hurting them. All she seemed to do in life is cause trouble and hurt people, she didn't want to hurt this village any more than she already had, they deserved better than that.

She was anxious to see all her old friends, but would they _want_ to see her? Obviously she wasn't in very much trouble if Tsunade-sama had allowed her into the village and didn't send her right back to TI, that and she threatened bodily harm to those who messed with her. How would people take that? Would they retaliate against the Hokage and kill her anyways, or would they just take it lying down and grumble in secret? They wouldn't be particularly happy, that much she was sure of. She could name a few people that would grumble louder than others. Sasuke just for the simple fact she _was_ affiliated with Itachi, Hinata for knocking her out, Naruto, and most likely Neji, for knocking Hinata out. Possibly Kiba, maybe Shino, Ino and the others for hurting Hinata also.

Damn, she never realized just how important the shy girl was to everyone. Then again it always was that if you mess with one of the Rookie Nine then you mess with them all, she didn't think that had changed much. So what happens when it's one of the Rookie Nine messing with another one of them? Hmm, that was an interesting thought, if she was still a close friend of theirs everyone would be forced to take sides and... what was the point of this? She wasn't their friend anymore, and, as far as anyone was concerned, she was no longer part of the Rookie Nine. Wouldn't that then make them the Rookie Eight? And what about Neji, TenTen and Lee, where did they fit in to that?

Chuckling lightly to herself Sakura shook her head to dispelled the random thoughts. She was suppose to be straightening emotions not trying to figure out the mathematics of their little tea club. With a quick sigh Sakura stood and began the hike back to the hotel. She wasn't going to get her emotions straightened out today, it was just one of those things that would work themselves out over time. Besides, she had the need to take all her frustration out on something, and at the hotel she had a very nice punching bag just waiting for her.

With an evil smirk and tree branch in hand the young kunoichi set off to partake in her favorite pastime: 'pin-the-stick-on-the-Darkness'.

* * *

Sasuke and Naruto watched the rest of their academy friends watch them. They were all staring at the duo anxious wanting to know why the two had asked them to meet here. Obviously something big was going on otherwise they wouldn't be here right? The reactions to the summons were different with each person. People like Shino, TenTen and Neji were calmly standing off to the sides waiting patiently for the two ANBU boys the explain why they were there. Kiba was threatening bodily harm if they didn't hurry up and spill it. Ino kept her mouth going about a thousand miles a minute. Lee was, well, doing whatever it was that Lee did. Choji was happily munching away on a bag of chips while Shikamaru groaned and grumbled about troublesome things and troublesome people. Finally the former teachers were casually standing in the back talking amongst themselves, the Hokage did say to tell everyone. 

All in all things were pretty normal at the moment. Naruto looked to Sasuke and nodded telling him that he should just say his spiel and get it over with. Taking the incentive Sasuke brought his fingers to his mouth and whistled to silence the bunch.

"I have a message from the Hokage, since i was instructed to give it to everyone i thought gathering you all together would be the easiest way. As of early last night Haruno Sakura is no longer a missing-nin. She has be reinstated as a ninja of this village under the order and protection of the Hokage herself. You are to treat her with the same respect you would any other ninja. If anyone has problems or concerns with this you are to take it up with the Hokage directly. If anyone harms her in any way the consequences will be sever. My personal suggestion is that none of you try anything, you're not being asked to trust her just to be civil with her."

The silence was so thick you could taste it. Everyone had a look of confusion on their face to some degree and some even looked angry.

"Why should we? She betrayed this village. She attacked and almost killed one of our ninja, ran away, joined the Akatsuki and has been killing our friends and allies ever since!" It was Kiba that spoke, he looked like he was ready to bite someones' head off, literally.

Shikamaru spoke next. "We can't say for sure what happened Kiba. All we have is the ninja she nearly killed and he doesn't remember anything about the week leading up to the attack. For all we know Sakura was coerced into the whole ordeal. The only people who know what happened that night would be Sakura and most likely the Akatsuki she traveled with, this could be the perfect chance to get all the facts."

That pretty much silenced all other complaints for the gathered crew.

"I know i shouldn't be, but i can't help but be happy that she is back. She may have done some evil things to this village, to us, but she is still a born Konoha ninja." Ino's voice was soft and shaky but it carried through the clearing well. She turned her bright blue eyes to Sasuke. "Do you know where i can find her?"

Sasuke shook his head. "I wasn't with the Hokage when the arrangements were being made. You can go ask her, though i don't think you should get your hopes up."

Ino smiled, nodded, and walked away. At least someone was happy the wayward kunoichi was home, maybe that's all it would take to get Sakura to shed light on a few of the mysteries surrounding here. Somewhere deep down Sasuke hoped they would be able to keep the girl around this time.

* * *

Darkness watched out the hotel window as Sakura made approached. He knew what she was going to do to him and the thought of it made him grimace. She was a tough girl, and if her reaction to the news was any sign of the trials to come things wouldn't be as bad as he originally thought. 

"I hope you know what you are doing Uchiha. I truly do."

* * *

**Ending Notes: Well there ya go... I had to make _someone_ be happy that Sakura is back in Konoha (it would kind of suck if she was hated by everyone) so i chose Ino, she was at one point Sakura's best friend after all... general confusion and apprehension all around for the rest of the bunch though, i know i would be if i was stuck in a situation like that... next chapter will have some confrontations, explanations, and some all around strangeness...**

**until then...**

**Review!**


	8. Of Slaps, Psychos and Stories

_**Disclaimer: same as always... don't own Naruto**_

**A/N: uuuuhhh… you know the drill**

**Katearah -** lol give your mother my apologies, I'll make sure to note that hyperactive Katearah's are very bad, but immensely funny things! Give my apologies to the walls too, I bet they're asking god what they did wrong _(grin)_ there are still a few key twistys and turnys yet in this story so don't get too dizzy yet or you might not be able to make it to the end! and I find your reviews neither long or boring, in fact I enjoy your reviews very much, since you're one of the very few that actually gives me their input other than 'update soon' please keep reviewing I'll keep giving you chapters

**100 reviews _(does happy dance)_ i'm good now... thank you to all reviewers! **

_'thoughts' _

"speech"

**Katearah this chapter is for you because your reviews make me laugh**

**Krista and Sexy.Black.Neko this chapter is for you because I fear bodily harm!

* * *

**

Remember You, Remember Me

Chapter 7: Slaps, Psychos and Stories

By: trailsofblood666 aka Wizard

* * *

One week. Sakura had been back in Konohagakure for one whole week and she had yet to leave the hotel room other than the time she chased and beat down Darkness. She was beginning to feel slightly restless and paced the room often but she was afraid to leave. What if someone she knew saw her? What would they do? Would they attack her, would they walk the other way? Would they stare at her, or would they welcome her? She would never know until she left her room, but she was afraid to leave her room.

Every time she worked up the courage to finally leave it fled as soon as her hand connected with the door knob. No one had been by to see her except for Darkness so it was safe to say they either didn't know where she was or they just steered clear of her. Speaking of Darkness, where was the man... sword... thing? He left every morning after bringing her breakfast, popped in for a few minutes at lunch time and finally returned for dinner. He never told her where he went during the days even when she asked and it was really starting to get on her nerves.

Sakura let out a frustrated breath and looked out the window; it was such a beautiful day out. It was warm but the cool breeze that drifted through the open window turned the air to the perfect temperature between hot and cold. The sun was shining, the birds were singing and she was locked up in a stuffy old bedroom. What was wrong with her? This was a day to be outside enjoying not sitting on her butt.

Grabbing a black hat that hugged her skull snuggly Sakura steeled her resolve. She was going outside today no matter what happened, no stinking ninja were going to keep her from this gorgeous day. Besides, she didn't think anyone would recognize her at first glance with her hat on and she didn't plan on standing in one place long enough for someone to get a second look. The tips of her hair were so sun-bleached that they seemed almost white in spots. Who cares if they do recognize her, what was the worst that they could do?

_'Attack me, beat me, maim me, turn me into a kunai pin cushion?'_

Okay those thoughts were so not helping her at all. Before she could think herself out of it she went right out the window and into the street. Several people gave her strange looks but she ignored them and continued on her marry way. Right at the moment she couldn't care less what a bunch of random people thought, she was too proud of herself for being able to finally leave.

Letting her feet carry her through the busy streets she studied her surroundings. Not much had changed from what she saw, a few businesses were gone and few more moved in but that was the extent of it. It was comforting to see some of her favorite shops lined up along the avenues; she even stopped in the weaponry and picked up a few things for the upkeep of her katana. Just because it never dulled didn't mean she should slack on maintenance, that and it gave her something to do on the days when she didn't want to leave the room.

Her next stop was the Hokage's monument in all its glory. Surprisingly that _had_ changed since she last saw it; they had added Tsunade's big head next to that of the 4th Hokage. It was kind of funny to see her giant head floating above the village with all the others but it also gave her the creeps. Who would want a bunch of old/dead people watching their every move like that? Not her, that was for sure.

Her final stop was one that even surprised her, she wasn't planning on visiting it just because of the memories it brought. As she ran her hand softly along the aged red wood of the bridge team 7 would meet at daily a smile ghosted its way up her lips. She paused in the middle of the bridge where she would normally stand and watched the water flow under her feet. She could still hear Naruto's loudmouth comments and Sasuke's vague grunts and groans to all questions and comments directed his way. She could see the two staring each other down and her having to step in and be the mediator. She could even still envision Kakashi's late arrivals and lame excuses.

And just like that they were gone. All the lame excuses, all the childish games, they were nothing but dust.

"You're late."

The smile faded from her lips and Sakura tensed but she didn't turn around. "I got lost somewhere along the way."

"We make maps for that."

This time Sakura did turn around and met the eyes, or eye, of Hatake Kakashi. His face held none of the humor she remembered, it was replaced by a distant seriousness that permeated the air and threatened to choke her. She shook her head and began to walk away. "I'll keep that in mind."

"Is running away all you know how to do or do you just enjoy it that much? I thought I taught you better than that."

Sakura slowed her retreat but she kept her back to the masked ninja. What did he know about her? What did he know about anything? While she had been out in the wilderness spending her days and nights running from people like him in fear of her life he had been here in this secure little village safe in his cozy bed. How many times had he run in fear of his friends? Had he spent every day for four years straight hoping beyond hope that this wasn't his last day on earth? She didn't think so.

"Do you enjoy being hurt Hatake-san? Where ever I go someone always ends up hurt one way or another. I'm going to walk away now, because yes, that is all I know how to do but not for the reasons you think."

"Spar me."

Ok that got Sakura to freeze in her tracks and turn around. Did she hear him right? "Come again?"

"Spar me, right here, right now."

Without waiting for her reply Kakashi advanced on the stunned kunoichi, kunai in hand poised and ready to strike. Sakura moved backwards slightly as the blade slashed at her face, just narrowly missing her nose in the process. He was actually attacking her to kill her, none of that 'this-is-just-practice-so-no-serious-wounds' crap this was an all out 'lets-see-what-color-you-bleed' attack. So absorbed in her thoughts Sakura barely had enough time to move out of the way of the kunai flying at her and still ended up knicking her ear.

The warm blood trickling down her neck finally brought her to her senses and she pulled her katana from its resting place. Even without Darkness inside it was still a deadly piece of metal, it just didn't look as cool without the green and white flames. Taking this as her way of agreeing to the match Kakashi jumped away to the old training field of team 7 so they didn't get in trouble with Sakura hot on his heels.

Kakashi watched as the girl landed a few yards away from him, sword still in hand and held low to the side. What did he know about the girl? He knew she was good at dodging because that's all she seemed to do when ever he encountered her, beyond that he had no idea what her combat skills were like. He would treat this sparring match like he would any battle against an unknown ninja, for that's what she was to him. Precautions would be taken to ensure that he didn't walk away from this with a missing arm.

Keeping an eye on her form the Copy Nin watched for any muscle contractions to indicate an oncoming attack, he would let her make the first move to gauge her attack speed and go from there. The attack that came was without warning, one moment she was standing completely still the next she was a few feet away from him and swinging her sword in an upwards arch towards his midsection. Without thinking Kakashi flipped backwards to avoid being impaled, he saw what had happened when Naruto just touched the sword on it's hilt and he wasn't too keen on finding out what would happen when it was embedded in him.

Landing on one hand Kakashi used his free one to whip a few kunai at the charging girl. Sakura didn't even try to dodge the projectiles except the one aimed at her neck and continued her advance with kunai protruding from above her elbow and hip. The pain didn't seem to slow her at all and Kakashi was forced backwards again. Rethinking his attack plan Kakashi threw down a smoke bomb to confuse her for a few and took that moment to perform one of his trademark jutsu's: Doton Tsuiga no Jutsu.

The smoke began to clear and Kakashi watched as the disfigured form of Sakura began to appear. When things settled down enough to see clearly the Copy Nin smirked. There, no more than ten feet away, was his opponent pinned in place by the numerous ninja dogs he had summoned. Her sword was still out and looking dangerous but a pair of large German Shepard's held her arms immobile while various others held the rest of her body in place. She looked pissed beyond words but the most she could do in that situation was shout obscenities at him.

Sakura looked down at her sword and smiled a sickly sweet grin which instantly put Kakashi back on guard. Relaxing her grip on the katanas' hilt she allowed the weight of the sword to drop a few inches before re-gripping it again upside down and bringing the blade around and into the Shepard on her left which disappeared into a puff of smoke. They had a grip on her arms but that still gave her full movement of her wrists. Lightening fast she swung the weapon to the other side and disposed of the second hindrance to her movement. Never before had Kakashi seen someone break out of his Tracking Fang and make it look so easy.

In the space of a few seconds Sakura was free to move again and went back to her original target: Hatake Kakashi. As she rushed at him Kakashi remained in place and let her come which struck the girl as odd. Was he too stunned at her display or did he have something up his sleeve? Knowing Kakashi he wasn't stunned so the only explanation was the latter, but what was he planning? Bringing her katana around she swung sideways at the mans midriff, even as the blade descended on him he didn't move or take his eyes from hers. Eyes widening, Sakura tried to pull out of the swing but all she succeeded in doing was slowing it a bit and the blade connected with Kakashi's side.

For a moment the entire world stood still.

Blood trailed down the blade that embedded itself six inches into her former sensei's side and pooled at her hands. Releasing the hilt, Sakura let the katana slide from the wound and fall to the ground. Kakashi didn't break eye contact but he swayed a slightly when the sword fell. Taking a shaky step backwards, she shook her head from side to side slowly as the tears began to fall. When the Copy Nin fell forward to the ground Sakura followed the suit and did the only thing she could think of. She closed her eyes, brought both hands up to cover her ears, and screamed.

Kakashi watched from his safe perch in a tree as the scene took place. Sakura was caught in the same genjutsu he had used on their very first day of training; to him it looked like she was fighting only air but he knew that it was him she thought she was attacking. He watched as the sword fell from her grip and she backed up slowly and he couldn't help but wonder what she saw. When the kunoichi started screaming he knew it was time to end the jutsu before someone came along and mistook their sparing for something bad.

Honestly he was a little disappointed that the sparring match had ended so quickly but Kakashi dispelled the jutsu and jumped from the tree. Sakura still had her eyes closed and was still screaming when he stopped in front of her. At any other time he would admire how well her lungs worked but right now he needed her to be quiet. Laying his hands over her own and gently tugged her hands down and spoke softly into her ear. "Sakura, open your eyes."

Sakura obeyed and snapped her eyes open wide. Her breath was still coming in short ragged gasps while fresh tears pooled when she finally realized what was happening. In the blink of an eye Sakura had her arms around the Copy Nin and just as fast she landed a smack dead on the side of his face. The bastard had made her think she actually killed him, he deserved every ounce of pain and more that she could give him. How dare he!

Kakashi looked on in humored curiosity as the girl composed herself; Sakura was a strange, strange girl. First with the anger, then the killing followed by a nice bout a screaming and ending all with a hug and a slap and now, now she was smiling. Sheesh was it that time of the month for her or something? Kakashi stood and looked down at the pink haired kunoichi, from this view she looked vulnerable, almost like the little girl he had taught. Offering his hand, which Sakura accepted without hesitation, Kakashi pulled the girl to her feet and she turned that smile on him.

For this moment in time she wasn't Sakura-the-Nukenin, the girl who betrayed her village, no, for just this moment she was Haruno Sakura again.

"You know we're all curious right?"

Sakura nodded and turned her head to avoid the Copy Cat Ninja's gaze, she knew what she had to do, it was just finding the courage to do it. She felt she had already used all her stores of that particular emotion for the day and now somehow she had to produce more. It was now or never while she had all her anger out of her system do to the fight. It had to be now.

Taking hold of Kakashi's hand the pink kunoichi pulled her former sensei along behind her. "Come on, come on, and stop resisting." Feeling his curious stare on her back Sakura elaborated. "If I'm going to give you answers I would rather not have to do it a thousand times so come on. I at least want the rest of team 7 to be present."

* * *

"Are we there yet?"

Silence

"Are we there yet?"

More silence.

"Are we there yet?"

"Kisame if you don't _shut_ your mouth I'm going to _permanently_ remove it from your face!"

Silence... "How about now?"

Itachi stopped to let out a frustrated sigh and bang his head repeatedly against a tree. Why, good lord _why_, did he have to be stuck with Kisame? He would give anything in the world to make the shark man keep his mouth silent for just five minutes, _five minutes_, that's all he was asking for. Was it that hard of a wish to grant? They had been walking for three days and in that span of time the mans mouth only stopped working when he was asleep.

It wasn't so bad when Sakura was traveling with them because she would actually carry out a conversation with Kisame; Itachi had no want or real motivation to do so, so he had always remained silent. They had traveled with the girl so long he had forgotten how much his partner loved to talk, he was painfully reminded now.

"Hey Itachi, I don't think you should be doing that. I mean they say you lose brain cells that way and the last thing I need is a dumb partner."

Giving his head one last bang for good measure, Itachi turned towards his obnoxious partner, Sharingan spinning dangerously in his eyes causing Kisame to take a step backwards and put up his hands in defense. Itachi was a scary, scary individual when he wanted to be.

"Alright, alright I'll shut up, just one last question. Are you sure you know what you're doing?"

"Of course not, but we don't have much of a choice do we? In order for our plans to proceed accordingly Sakura needs to have the trust of Konoha, what better way than to have her believe that we actually betrayed her?"

"And if she doesn't believe us when the time comes, what then? What if she decides that she wants to stay in Konohagakure once she gains the trust of the people again? What if she doesn't want to travel with us anymore?"

Itachi looked at Kisame skeptically; the shark-man had hit his concerns right on the nose, not that he would ever admit it of course. It was a very real possibility that Sakura may realize how much she missed her old life and want to keep it that way, ultimately foiling any plans they had for the girl. Even if she did believe that the whole thing was set up from the beginning Itachi knew that she would be hurting bad in the end anyways, she was emotional like that. They just had to pray that everything went the way it was designed to.

Putting an arm around Kisame's shoulders Itachi offered his tall blue companion a terrifying smirk. "Then, my shark-like friend, we are screwed."

Kisame shivered and shrugged out of Itachi's hold, obviously the man _had_ lost a few brain cells in his encounter with the tree because he was _touching him_ in a very uncomfortable manner. Deciding this was as good a place as any to just sit and relax and make some lunch shark-man dropped his pack and made the preparations. It wasn't too long before they had a fire going and a few tasty little fish roasting over it. Itachi seemed to be in another universe cause all he was doing was staring blankly into the fire as if mesmerized by it.

Kisame shook his head and threw a stick at the Sharingan man. "You really love her don't you?"

Itachi skillfully evaded to flying stick without taking his eyes from the fire. "More than she'll ever know."

Kisame smiled, it was both a confession and a warning not to say anything. That was Uchiha Itachi for you.

* * *

Sakura fidgeted nervously under the gazes of the people crammed into her small hotel room. They had managed to round up most of the Rookie Nine and Team Gai minus those who were away on missions so that left Hinata, Ino, Kakashi, Lee, Naruto, Neji, Sasuke, Shikamaru, Tsunade and Darkness. When the human-sword popped up she had no idea but there he was standing silently in a darkened corner completely unnoticed. Adding her there was seven people too many for the legal limit but she refused to be somewhere she didn't feel comfortable, and so far this was the only place she felt safe. Of course after this was done she would have to change where she was staying so they wouldn't be able to find her.

No one in the room said anything, hell they barely breathed and it was putting her on edge; hence the nervous fidgeting she was currently working at. She had, had Kakashi round everyone up he could find and bring them here and since the arrival of the first few people no one had said a word to her, they all just stared at her with calculating eyes like this was some type of trap. She couldn't exactly blame them but did they really think she was going to try something with so many people around, or better yet, blow up the damn building with her in it? Yeah, right, she loved her own life way too much.

So here they all were, gathered around to hear the sad story of her life and ask a million questions regarding it. Actually they were just going to ask questions, she wasn't going to let them in on any information that they didn't ask about. Only tell the mere basics, that's what she was taught and that's the way she operated, courtesy of one: Uchiha Itachi. Sakura shook her head of that thought, she didn't want to think about the missing-nin right now, and she had bigger fish to fry.

With a sigh she turned her attention to the gathering. "So…?"

Tsunade was the one who took the initiative in starting the conversation. "Start from the beginning Sakura, the night you nearly killed Kiba."

Sakura scrunched her eyebrows together and looked at the ground; this was going to be a _very_ long afternoon. "Well, I suppose it started just like every other day…"

* * *

**Ending Notes: ok the end… I realized something this week… I'm completely useless without my laptop… I wrote up to the end of Sakura and Kakashi's fight on my laptop before my 120lb wolf hybrid hurt my baby _(cries_)I spent the next 2 days rewriting the same paragraph before I decided to just chill and wait for my baby to be fixed…**

**Well until next time…**

**Review!  
**


	9. Stories, Spasms and Plans

_**Disclaimer: same as always… me + Naruto equals no own**_

**A/N: Ok I know its been a long time since my last update but please don't kill me _(cowers in corner)_ although I will admit that my lack of update is due purely to laziness on my end… that and my dog stepped on my laptop screen and cracked it therefore I had to perform a funeral for my loyal friend (meaning I'm on my daddy's laptop at the current moment)**

**To all my reviewers: I thank you all for your reviews to the last chapter and I apologize again for being lazy and not updating in so long…**

**On to the story…

* * *

**

Remember You, Remember Me

Chapter 8: Stories, Spasms, and Plans

By: trailsofblood aka Wizard

* * *

_**Last time on RYRM: **_

_Tsunade was the one who took the initiative in starting the conversation. "Start from the beginning Sakura, the night you nearly killed Kiba"

* * *

_

Sakura scrunched her eyebrows together and looked at the ground; this was going to be a _very _long afternoon. "Well, I suppose it started just like every other day, woke up, went to the hospital, worked, all that great stuff. Nothing out of the ordinary, just the usual day to day monotony…"

_**(flashback)**_

_Sakura walked down the paved street leading away from the hospital. It was late and she had been forced to work way beyond her scheduled time when a shinobi came in with some critical injuries; mission gone way wrong apparently. Needless to say she was falling asleep on her feet and wanted nothing more than to just get home and pass out in her warm, cozy bed._

_Putting her feet on auto-pilot the pink-haired kunoichi allowed herself to drift off thinking about her delicious sounding bed. She was so absorbed in the thoughts of finally being able to relax that she failed to notice the presence trailing closely behind her. Not that she would have thought much about it had she turned around anyways._

_Displaying the skill only ninja's possess the boy wove in and out of the shadows, steadily nearing his unaware target. Feeling a familiar tingle travel down her spin, Sakura whipped around and grabbed the kunai aimed at her head; she wasn't a high level Chuunin for nothing. Bringing the kunai down chest level she scanned the growing darkness for her attacker._

_She wasn't too worried; it was more likely than not just Sasuke or Naruto making sure she was staying on top of her game, even when she is tired. Possibly even Kakashi just doing the weird shit he does best. Snapping the kunai forward the green eyed girl released the object back the way it had came, heading straight for whoever had thrown it in the first place._

_Not letting her guard down for a second she waited for her mystery attacker to make another move. When nothing happened Sakura sighed and dropped her stance, she wasn't in the mood to play tag with a kunai._

"_Whoever it is, I don't want to play. I just want to go home and crawl in my bed and never come back out. So if you will excuse me, I'll be going now." Whirling around she continued on her merry way, at least she intended to. What she wasn't counting on was slamming hard into another body, causing her to fall backwards onto her ass with a grunt._

_Sakura titled her head upwards towards the being that so effectively knocked her over. The moment her eyes met his, an instant spike of fear traveled down her back to settle in her stomach. Though the figure before her **looked** like Inuzuka Kiba his eyes said different. Eyes that normal displayed emotions clear as water were now clouded over with dark nothing. It wasn't the eyes of the Inuzuka Kiba that stared out at her now; these orbs belonged to someone else, someone void of any and all emotions._

"_K-kiba, are you alright?" Sakura asked, pulling herself up from the ground and backing up slightly._

_Kiba's reply was a quick slash at her neck with a kunai which she evaded by taking another step back and kept going. Backing herself up against the wall of a building, the green-eyed chuunin watched him advance on her again. This time she threw herself to the right and rolled out of the way. Kiba's kunai lodged itself into the wall where her head had been a few moments earlier and stayed there._

"_Kiba, what are you doing!" Sakura screamed as she pulled herself upright and put a few more feet between them._

_Slowly Kiba turned to face her, eyes still cold. "Orders." Was the dead reply that she got._

_Sakura's eyes widened. "Orders? From who? I don't understand, who would order you to attack me? What did I do?"_

_Kiba didn't reply as he rushed at her again, forming seals as he went. The young kunoichi's mind was frantic as he charged at her again. He was ordered to kill her, but why? As far as she knew she hadn't done anything even mildly wrong, let alone something to get her killed. Nothing was making sense in her world anymore. If he was ordered to kill her the orders had to have come from Tsunade-sensei, but why? WHY?_

_The question pulsed through her head and bounced off the sides of her skull, leaving a throbbing headache in their wake. Snapping open her eyes she saw Kiba rushing at her from all sides. Thinking fast Sakura back flipped out of the way and began her own set of hand seals. _

_Completing them as the Kiba Clones closed on each other the young chuunin pushed chakra to her hands and out her fingertips, successfully making four long, dangerous spikes. The real Kiba turned on Sakura, kunai poised in both hands and charged. Everything faded around her vision except the enemy and Sakura let herself sink into the zone._

_If she used this jutsu on the oncoming boy her place in Konoha was gone. Shizune had taught her this to use against an enemy, not an ally. If she were to impale Kiba his chances of survival were slim to absolutely none, she didn't want to kill the boy but he was trying to kill her. What was she suppose to do._

'_**Why?'**_

_Time slowed as Kiba drew closer. 'I don't understand.'_

'_**Why?'**_

_Bringing her arm up Sakura prepared to strike. 'Please, what have I done?'_

'**_Why?'_**

_Her arm tensed the closer her came, drawing in energy and coiling it, preparing it for the hit. 'Don't do this, please, I'm begging you, stop.'_

'_**Why!'**_

_Sakura shot her hand out, all the energy uncoiling like a compressed spring and impaling Kiba in the chest. The chakra spikes sunk in up to her fingertips and she released a violent wave of her own chakra into his system attacking all of his organs simultaneously. The boys emotionless eyes went wide as blood began to trickle out of his mouth._

_An agonized scream tore from the boys lips as he fell to the ground, Sakura could only imagine what he must be feeling. Tears started to leak from her eyes as she watched her former friend writhe in pain on the ground. Someone would hear his screams and then she would be in even more trouble. If Tsunade had sent him to quietly assassinate her in the dead of night she could guess what was coming next and it chilled her to the bone._

_Now it would be the ANBU's turn to have some fun._

_Turning on her heel Sakura ran as fast as she could through the village, she would leave here as quickly as she could and that would be the end of it._

_Or so she thought…_

_**(end flashback)**_

Sakura looked up at the people gathered around her. "I don't want your sympathy or care about your understanding, its all worthless to me. My friend standing in the corner over there may have asked for my re-entrance to the village but I didn't. I was perfectly fine taking care of myself as a nukenin."

"If by 'perfectly fine' you mean 'nearly getting killed by the Akatsuki' then yes you were perfectly fine. Stop acting like a child Sakura and take help where it comes, gods know you need it." Darkness pushed himself off the wall and took a step towards the girl. Sakura's eyes in turn narrowed dangerously and took on a look of disgust.

"I'm curious about that. Itachi and Kisame rescued you just to nurse you to health and try to kill you? That makes little to no sense to me." Tsunade voiced her opinion and leaned towards the kunoichi in the spotlight.

"Hn. My brothers and evil bastard, what more needs to be said?" Was Sasuke's input from his perch. Sakura could feel her temper rising.

"I don't know what was going through their minds and, truthfully, I don't care to know. They did what they did and that's all the information I need." Darkness answered and Sakura's temper snapped.

Sakura sprung up from her chair and shakily pointed to the door, keeping head bowed and eyes to the ground. "Out." Nobody moved. "I said get out! All of you! You know nothing, none of you know Itachi so don't assume you do. GET OUT!"

At this point Darkness rushed forward through the gathered people and clamped his arms right around the girl, bringing her hand down in the process. She fought against him for a second but ultimately resigned and let her weight fall. They knew nothing, there had to be an explanation, Itachi wouldn't just betray her… would he?

"I'm sorry for her behavior, but I'm going to have to ask you all to leave. It seems she is still in pain over being betrayed."

As everyone filed out of the room Sasuke hung back until only Tsunade, Kakashi, Naruto and Hinata remained. Without turning to look at Sakura or her friend he spoke. "I think we know well the feeling of betrayal, we have had enough of it in our lives." And he disappeared.

After everyone was gone and the door was shut Darkness guided his depressed charge to her bed and sat her down. With a sigh he sat down beside her and folded his hands. She looked so lost and hurt, he wanted to take all that pain away but knew that he couldn't. Only Itachi and Kisame could fix his broken ward now.

"I don't get it, please explain it to me. What did I do wrong in life, what did I do to deserve this?" Sakura's voice came out small and tear-laden and Darkness could feel his metaphorical heart breaking at the pitiful sound.

"I'm sorry Sakura I don't have the answers to that."

Said girl raised her head and cast her teary eyes on the opposite wall. "I love him you know. I would have done anything for me had he asked it of me. Had he asked me to bring him a star I would have gone to the heavens and back just to make him happy. I gave everything to him that was precious to me so willingly. I feel so cheap now, so dirty, so used. Did I mean anything to him at all?"

The humanoid katana stared at her. _'Damn you Itachi.'_ "I don't have the answers to that either."

At this Sakura let out a soft chuckle and a sad smile. "That what are you good for hmm?"

"Making you smile."

* * *

Itachi watched as night descended on Konohagakure. This time of day made his blood run wild in his veins. Everything was shutting down and hiding for the night so darkness and shadows could engulf the world and reign supreme for hours until the sun made its next appearance. This was the true beauty in the world. This was his element. 

Quiet as a whisper of the wind Itachi jumped the walls of the village and made his way down familiar streets with Kisame right behind him. For the first time in what seemed like years the shark man was finally quiet. They had a meeting that they couldn't be late for or else they would lost their opportunity to set things into motion they way they had planned.

Rounding a corner Itachi strolled into his old home community. This had been patched up around the Uchiha district since he had last been here. The most noticeable being the fact that lifeless body weren't strewn throughout the streets with pools of blood everywhere you stepped. This he was glad for, the last thing he needed was to make any unneeded noise what-so-ever.

He had no illusions about this place. He knew his baby brother still lived in the same house he had lived in growing up, he also knew one slip up would alert him to their presence and bring the whole village down on them. This was still the safest place in Konoha for them to meet thought because it was completely deserted other than its single inhabitant and there was little to no chance of somebody stumbling upon them out here.

As the duo walked through the streets Itachi surveyed his surroundings. He had memories of just about every one of the houses lined along the avenues and yet he felt nothing. There was no pain at his loss, no regret, no satisfactory at his accomplishment. Just complete empty nothingness. It was like passing by a tree that you had passed a million times before; just because you saw it every day didn't mean you would miss it or be saddened if you walked by one day to find it cut down. After all, it was only a tree.

Stopping in front of a familiar house Itachi quickly and quietly opened the door and motioned of Kisame to enter. The house had belonged to some close relative of another, but after so many years he failed to remember who. He wanted Kisame to go first just in case an attack was waiting for them on the other side, Kisame would be the first to die while he had time to make his getaway. Taking a quick final look around to make sure they weren't followed or spotted Itachi stepped in to the darkened house and quietly closed the door behind him.

Lighting a small flame on the tip of his finger Itachi cast a small glow over the room. He hoped it wasn't bright enough to attract attention, but then again any light coming from an abandoned house would attract attention. Moving deeper into the house, away form he windows, Itachi sought the one they were to meet. He stretched out his sense to engulf the house but felt nothing, not that that meant a damn thing anyways.

Slowly and stealthily they made their way to one of the inner rooms near the back of the house, no one would be able to see a flame in a room that had no windows. As much as he enjoyed the dark he preferred to keep his eye on the man they were meeting, he unnerved the Uchiha prodigy to no end.

Sliding open the screen to the appointed room Itachi and Kisame momentarily looked into complete blackness before moving the flame so it could reach into the room. The moment the little light engulfed the room the figure of the man they were to meet became visible to them and made Itachi inwardly cringe. He hadn't felt his presence all the way through the house and even now, when the man stood no more than 15 feet from him, he still couldn't feel him.

Nothing was said between the three as Kisame slid the door shut behind him and the three settled at the low table in the center of the room. From an outside perspective it looked like they were having a late night cup or tea or something equally as girly instead of having a secret, illegal, meeting in an abandoned house. Itachi lit a small lamp with the flame on his finger and set it in the middle of the table so it cast eerie shadows on their bodies and the walls.

"Nice to see you again Darkness." Kisame smirked and arranged himself into a more comfortable position.

"And you Kisame, Itachi." Folding his arms Darkness nodded to each in turn.

"Akaaki." Itachi smirked and leaned forward so his elbow rested on the table and his chin on his hand.

Darkness cocked his head slightly and twitched his lips up at the corner. "It's been a long time since I was last called that."

Itachi raised an eyebrow. "It is your name isn't it?"

Darkness nodded. "It seems you've been doing your homework."

"Yes, but that's a discussion for another time, we have more pressing matter at the moment. How is she?"

Akaaki leaned back and closed his eyes, letting himself sink into thought for a moment before answering the Uchiha. "Things aren't going the way you planned. It seems your 'betrayal' scarred her deeper than we had intended. Her main flaw is that she foolishly fell in love with you and can't seem to get her head around your actions. She refuses to interact much, if at all, with any of her former friends and teammates. Just earlier today she nearly bit the head off of everyone when they commented on your motives; I thought for sure she was going to kill your brother when he called you an 'evil bastard'. It was quite entertaining really but very anti-productive. She's falling apart at the seams. I want to remind her about always trusting you but I'm afraid that would make everything completely obvious to her and might endanger the whole mission. After all it is better if she goes on unawares until the perfect moment so she doesn't slip up but she's doing a poor job of regaining their trust anyways."

Itachi and Kisame took in and digested the information. It was a few moments before anyone spoke again.

"What are our options?" Kisame asked looking from Akaaki to Itachi and back again.

"Keeping her here uninformed we risk losing her, but if we inform her we risk her accidentally exposing herself. We could remove her and find another way to go about the mission but that means starting back at the beginning and the boss isn't going to like that much. We could also just leave her here and continue on with this mission just the three of us. Personally I don't like that last option but the decision is ultimately yours Itachi." Akaaki opened his golden eyes and watched Itachi as he threw the ideas around inside his head.

"I want to inform her but I'm not entirely sure that that's a wise idea. I know she would never intentionally do anything to jeopardize the mission but she can be a little clumsy and messy at times, one wrong move could end her life permanently and I'm not sure I want to take that risk. How about this, if she doesn't seem to be improving or she seems to be getting sucked too far in at the end of two weeks we inform her of the mission and pray for the best. I know she is going to be angry no matter what we do, I just hope she isn't so much so that she gets unreasonable and blows the mission. Monitor her behavior Akaaki and make the call yourself, we trust your judgment. You know how to get in contact with us if something goes wrong."

Akaaki nodded and stood as Kisame and Itachi did, signaling the end of the meeting. Itachi blew out the lamp and re-lit the small flame on the tip of his finger. Kisame exited the room and waited for his comrade on the other side. Itachi paused at the doorway and turned his head sideways slightly towards Darkness one final time. In a low soft voice he spoke to the humanoid sword.

"Take care of her."

And then they were gone, leaving Akaaki in the dark to chew on the eventfulness of their meeting, or lack-there-of.

"I sincerely hope things go as we planned."

* * *

**Ending Notes: ya! So Darkness (Akaaki) _is_ in on Itachi and Kismet's evil plans with Sakura (insert insane laugh here) what is in store for out little pink kunoichi in the future, what is it that the Akatsuki wants in Konoha? Well I guess you will find out at a later date cuz that's the end of this installment…..**

**I'm sorry if I don't update for a week or two, I don't like asking my dad to use his laptop and mine doesn't get sent in to the shop until this Monday or Tuesday to get fixed and I don't know how long it will be there… just bare with me, once this is all cleared up I will update regularly again…. I promise on my life….**

**Don't ask me what Akaaki means, I think its 'red autumn' or something along those lines but I don't know so don't yell at me if I'm wrong I didn't come up with it… my friend Static just threw a name at me when I asked…**

**Until next time….**

**Review!**


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